- Contents
- *Scope and Themes
- What you need to know
- Definition
- Data sources
- Sales data
- Consumer survey data
- Abbreviations and terms
- Abbreviations
- Terms
What you need to know
There are currently 29.1 million children and adults in the US living with diabetes, up from 25.8 million in 2010. The number of people who suffer from diabetes is tied to the shifting demographics of the US, as diabetes is more prevalent among Hispanic and Black Americans. This report explores the rising rates of diabetes and prediabetes in the US, and how those with diabetes manage their condition. Strategies that companies can use to meet the needs of those who suffer from diabetes will be presented, as will the relationship between BMI (body mass index) and diabetes.
This report builds on the analysis presented in Mintel’s Diabetics: Attitudes & Behavior – US, August 2010, as well as the August 2008 and September 2006 report of the same title.
Definition
Diabetes is a disorder of metabolism in which the body does not produce or properly use insulin. Most of the food people eat is broken down into glucose, the form of sugar in the blood and the main source of fuel for the body. Insulin is a hormone that is needed to convert sugar, starches and other food into energy needed for daily life. While the cause of diabetes remains unknown, both genetics and environmental factors, such as obesity and lack of exercise, appear to play roles.
Diabetes takes four different forms, type 1, type 2, prediabetes, and gestational diabetes, each explained in the Terms section that follows. Due to the significantly higher percentage of people with type 2 diabetes in relation to those with type 1, and the significant differences driving the two diseases, this report focuses on type 2 diabetes, the more prevalent, as well as preventable and most often reversible, form.
This report covers products that are used to treat diabetes (glucose home testing kits and accessories). MULO sales data for testing products, as segmented by Information Resources, Inc InfoScan Reviews are included for:
Glucose monitors/tests
Lancets and other testing accessories.
Value figures throughout this report are at retail selling prices (rsp) excluding sales tax unless otherwise stated.
Sales data
Leading Companies and Brand Share: based on MULO sales data from Information Resources, Inc InfoScan Reviews. MULO is defined as Multi Outlet, representative of the following channels: Total US Grocery, Mass, Total US Drug, Total Walmart, Dollar, Military, and Club.
Consumer survey data
For the purposes of this report, Mintel commissioned exclusive consumer research through GMI to explore consumer incidence of and attitudes toward diabetes. Mintel was responsible for the survey design, data analysis and reporting. Fieldwork was conducted in May 2014 among a sample of 2,386 adults aged 18+ with access to the internet.
Mintel selects survey respondents by gender, age, household income, and region so that they are proportionally representative of the US adult population using the internet. Mintel also slightly over-samples, relative to the population, respondents that are Hispanic or Black to ensure an adequate representation of these groups in our survey results and to allow for more precise parameter estimates from our reported findings. Please note that Mintel surveys are conducted online and in English only. Hispanics who are not online and/or do not speak English are not included in the survey results.
Mintel has also analyzed data from Experian Marketing Services, using the Simmons National Consumer Study (NCS), and the Simmons National Hispanic Consumer Study (NHCS). The Experian Marketing Services, Simmons NCS/NHCS was carried out during November 2012-December 2013 and the results are based on a sample of 23,689 adults aged 18+, with results weighted to represent the US adult population.
While race and Hispanic origin are separate demographic characteristics, Mintel often compares them to each other. Please note that the responses for race (White, Black, Asian, Native American, or other race) will overlap those that also are Hispanic, because Hispanics can be of any race.
Abbreviations
The following is a list of abbreviations used in this report.
| ACA | Affordable Care Act |
| CPI | Consumer Price Index |
| ACSM | American College of Sports Medicine |
| ADA | American Diabetes Association |
| AMA | American Medical Association |
| BFY | Better-for-you |
| BMI | Body Mass Index |
| CDC | Centers for Disease Control and Prevention |
| : | : |
| : | : |
Terms
| BMI | BMI is an index of weight-for-height that is commonly used to classify overweight and obese. BMI does not directly measure body fat. Generally accepted groupings for BMI classifications are: - Underweight: BMI <18.5 - Healthy weight: BMI = 18.5-24.9 - Overweight: BMI = 25-29.9- - Obese: BMI = 30+ Within Mintel’s consumer survey, BMI calculations are based on respondent self-reported height and weight, and therefore may differ from actual recorded values. Mintel classifies respondents into three BMI categories, combining underweight and healthy weight respondents into one group for analysis purposes. |
| Gestational diabetes | Gestational diabetes occurs in pregnant women who have never had diabetes before, when the body is not able to make and use all the insulin it needs for pregnancy. It affects about 4% of all pregnant women. There are about 135,000 cases in the US each year. Gestational diabetes usually goes away after pregnancy. However, after pregnancy, 5-10% of women with gestational diabetes are found to have type 2 diabetes. Women who have had gestational diabetes have a 20-50% chance of developing diabetes in the next five to 10 years. |
| Prediabetes | A condition that raises the risk of developing type 2 diabetes, heart disease, and stroke. People with prediabetes have blood glucose levels higher than normal but not high enough to be classified as diabetes. Progression to diabetes among those with prediabetes is not inevitable. Studies have shown that people with prediabetes who lose weight and increase their physical activity can prevent or delay diabetes and even return their blood glucose levels to normal. However, most people with prediabetes will eventually develop diabetes. |
| Type 1 diabetes | Alternately called Insulin Dependent Diabetes Mellitus (IDDM), type 1 diabetes usually strikes youths and adolescents, but can occur at any time in life. Type 1 diabetes is an autoimmune disorder in which the pancreas stops producing insulin. People with type 1 diabetes must use insulin as part of their management, whether via a shot, pump, or other method. It is estimated that 5-10% of Americans who are diagnosed with diabetes have type 1. The cause of type 1 is unknown, but it is not a “lifestyle” disease; people with type 1 are generally young, healthy and of normal weight when they develop the disease. Previously referred to as juvenile diabetes. |
| Type 2 diabetes | Type 2 diabetes results from insulin resistance (a condition in which the body fails to properly use insulin), combined with relative insulin deficiency. Some 90-95% of Americans with diabetes have type 2. Genes and lifestyle factors both play roles in the development of the disease. |
Generations, if discussed within this report, are defined as:
| World War II/ Swing generations | Members of the WWII generation were born in 1932 or before and are aged 82 or older in 2014. Members of the Swing Generation were born from 1933-45 and are aged 69-81 in 2014. |
| Baby Boomers | The generation born between 1946 and 1964. In 2014, Baby Boomers are between the ages of 50 and 68. |
| Generation X | The generation born between 1965 and 1976. In 2014, Gen Xers are between the ages of 38 and 49. |
| Millennials* | Born between 1977 and 1994, Millennials are aged 20 to 37 in 2014. |
| iGeneration | Born between 1995 and 2007, members of iGen are aged 7 to 19 in 2014 |
| Emerging generation | The newest generation began in 2008 as the annual number of births declined sharply with the recession. In 2014 members of this as-yet unnamed generation are under age 7. |
* Also known as Generation Y or Echo Boomers.
In order to provide an inflation-adjusted price value for markets, Mintel uses the CPI to deflate current prices. The CPI is defined as follows:
| CPI | The Consumer Price Index is a measure of the average change over time in the prices paid by urban consumers for a market basket of consumer goods and services. The CPI and its components are typically used to adjust other economic series for price changes and to translate these series into inflation-free dollars. Examples of series adjusted by the CPI include retail sales, hourly and weekly earnings, and components of the national income and product accounts. In addition, and in Mintel reports, the CPI is used as a deflator of the value of the consumer’s dollar to find its purchasing power. The purchasing power of the consumer’s dollar measures the change in the value to the consumer of goods and services that a dollar will buy at different dates. The CPI is generally the best measure for adjusting payments to consumers when the intent is to allow consumers to purchase, at today’s prices, a market basket of goods and services equivalent to one that they could purchase in an earlier period. It is also the best measure to use to translate retail sales into real or inflation-free dollars. Based on Bureau of Labor Statistics definition. |
