Control your diabetes. For Life.

Campaign Overview:

Almost 21 million Americans have diabetes. Diabetes is one of the leading causes of death and disability in the United States. It is the leading cause of adult blindness, end-stage kidney disease, and amputations of the foot or leg. It also puts people at increased risk of heart disease and stroke. Yet public awareness about the disease is very low, and many people with diabetes do not understand all they can do to control their disease and prevent complications.

The Control Your Diabetes. For Life. campaign, from the National Diabetes Education Program, emphasizes the importance of comprehensive control for people with diabetes. HHS' National Diabetes Education Program is a national initiative jointly sponsored by the National Institutes of Health and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

The Control Your Diabetes. For Life. campaign seeks to reach the almost 21 million Americans with diabetes, and their families, with messages about the seriousness of diabetes, ways to control the disease, and the benefits of controlling diabetes for life. Campaign messages emphasize that diabetes can be controlled by eating healthy foods in the right amounts, getting regular physical activity, taking diabetes medications as prescribed, and testing your blood sugar on a regular basis. Campaign materials offer tips to help people with diabetes keep their blood sugar under control, and emphasize the importance of knowing the ABCs of diabetes.

Campaign tools such as television, radio, and print public service announcements (PSAs), sample articles, and fact sheets are available in English and Spanish. NDEPs network of more than 200 local, state, and national partners help spread the news about comprehensive diabetes control through news stories, events, and distribution of NDEP educational materials in English, Spanish, and 15 Asian languages.

NDEPs campaign messages and materials are targeted to groups at high risk for the disease: older adults, women with a history of gestational diabetes, and African Americans, American Indians and Alaska Natives, Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders, and Hispanics and Latinos.