Diabetes rates expected to double or triple by 2050

The number of U.S. adults with type 2 diabetes is on track to double or triple by 2050, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. That's one in three adults.

Researchers attribute the rapid increase in diabetes to the fact that more people are being diagnosed with diabetes earlier in life. This allows them to better control it through diet and medication adjustments, and thus, living longer. The report was published in the journal Population Health Metrics.

Diabetes ranks as the No. 1 cause of adult blindness, kidney failure and limb amputations, not to mention its affect on stroke, heart attacks, certain kinds of cancer, dementia and lung disease. The CDC estimates the current cost of diabetes at $174 billion annually. That could double over the next 20 years,  according to the American Diabetes Association.