The U.S. Food and Drug Administration has been evaluating a health claim petition that resistant starch from high amylose corn may help to reduce the risk of Type 2 Diabetes for more than 19 months. According to information posted on the FDA’s website, the FDA has once again extended the deadline for a decision to November 15, 2016. This delay is regrettable.

To be clear, the FDA may delay releasing a decision on the resistant starch/Type 2 Diabetes petition for months, if not years. In the meantime, eighty six million Americans have Prediabetes and most of them do not know it. Without intervention, 15-30% of Prediabetics will progress to Type 2 Diabetes within 5 years. [1] In the long run, approximately 70% of Prediabetics eventually develop Type 2 Diabetes if they continue with their current lifestyle and diet. Individuals who are older, overweight and have other diabetes risk factors are more likely to develop Type 2 Diabetes than younger individuals of normal weight who regularly exercise and maintain a healthy diet. Of course, genetic risk can trump lifestyle factors.

Prediabetes is also expensive. A 2014 Diabetes Care study estimated that prediabetes costs $44 billion annually. [2] In fact, the economic burden associated with diabetes exceeded $433 billion in 2012, or more than $1,000 for each American in 2012. It is also 48% more than the cost of the economic burden in 2007. If you think health care is too expensive right now – just wait to see what your healthcare is going to cost after the incidence of diabetes doubles!

The Centers for Disease Control, and many other health-based organizations are diligently working to raise awareness of this condition. I wish the U.S. Food and Drug Administration was helping solve the problem instead of delaying access to nutritional tools like resistant starch.

[1] Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. http://www.cdc.gov/diabetes/prevention/prediabetes-type2/

[2] Dall TM et al., Diabetes Care, 2014; 37(12):3172-3179.