Diabetes is the leading cause of adult blindness, kidney failure, and nontraumatic amputations, and is a significant contributor to cardiovascular disease. Some estimates claim that by 2040, more than 600 million people worldwide will have diabetes. Further, diabetes disproportionately affects minority groups and the poor, and designing strategies to prevent its development are essential to addressing health disparities across the U.S.

While caloric excess, physical inactivity, and genetic susceptibility are key factors in diabetes development, over the last decade an expanding body of scientific evidence has begun to implicate exposure to environmental pollutants as well.  Additionally, exposure to environmental pollution varies  across the population, with the poor and disenfranchised often bearing a greater burden. As a result, a better understanding of the links between environment and diabetes can lead to more effective and equitable policy interventions.  Endocrinologist Robert Sargis will examine evidence of industry’s impact on our metabolisms and suggest ways to address this growing epidemic.

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