Former Acting US Surgeon General Dr Kenneth Moritsugu says diabetes is a huge public health problem. In the United States alone, 21 million people are stricken with the disease. Moritsugu says that if we don't do something about it within the next couple of decades, the number will double.

Moritsugu, who has diabetes himself, will be among those convening a town hall meeting in the Silicon Valley on Friday to talk about advances in fighting diabetes.

”We are spending approximately $174 billion each year on diabetes, just imagine what that will be like when the number of diabetics double,” said Moritsugu. 

The best way to prevent the disease is to control obesity, which is linked to type two diabetes.

Moritsugu is chairman of a new Diabetes Institute in the South Bay, which will educate health care providers about the best way to help those with the chronic condition.

KCBS' Patti Reising reports