Diabetes Basics
![woman eating an apple, older couple riding bikes, a nurse weighing a man](/congress116th/20210121232557im_/https://www.cdc.gov/diabetes/images/basics/National_Diabetes_Month_web_banner-no-text.jpg)
Diabetes is a chronic (long-lasting) disease that affects how your body turns food into energy. There are three main types of diabetes: type 1, type 2, and gestational diabetes (diabetes while pregnant). More than 122 million Americans are living with diabetes (34.2 million) or prediabetes (88 million).
Page last reviewed: May 30, 2019
Content source: Centers for Disease Control and Prevention