There are a wide variety of unanticipated and unnecessary consequences and repercussions that have been linked to the heavy-handed response of some governments — federal, state, and local — to the coronavirus pandemic, particularly the ordered lockdowns and business closures.

One of those is a dramatic rise in diabetes deaths, with more than 100,000 Americans dying from that disease over the last year, PJ Media reported.

The outlet couldn’t help but notice that the surge in diabetes deaths coincided with the time period in which governments ordered people to stay in their homes, closed down gyms and parks, and generally discouraged any sort of healthy activity while promoting a sedentary lifestyle.

Diabetes deaths surge amid lockdowns, business closures, and hospital limitations

Reuters was the first to report that diabetes deaths had topped 100,000 per year for the second year in a row, according to data compiled by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

In 2019, before the pandemic, there were about 87,000 diabetes deaths in America, making the disease the seventh-leading cause of death in the nation.

But diabetes-related deaths jumped by 17 percent in 2020 and 15 percent in 2021 compared to the 2019 figures, setting a new record high of just over 102,000 such deaths last year.

It doesn’t take a science degree to connect the dots here and link the surge in diabetes deaths with the government-ordered lockdowns and business closures and discouragement of healthy activities, not to mention the pandemic-related policies limiting hospitals that almost certainly discouraged people from obtaining check-ups and treatments to address an otherwise typically preventable and manageable disease.

This was all foreseeable

Relatedly, the Healthline website reported in July 2021 that studies had shown that, despite diabetes affecting about 1 in 10 Americans, people with diabetes made up approximately 40 percent of all those who had died from the COVID-19 virus — suggesting those with the disease, as well as related comorbidities like obesity and high blood pressure, were more susceptible to catch and suffer greatly from the virus.

The site noted that, according to researchers, “Disruptions to diet, exercise, and other lifestyle factors — as well as decreased access to medication — caused by the COVID-19 pandemic also may take a health toll on people with diabetes.”

Indeed, Dr. Garry Welch, a chief scientist and co-founder of Silver Fern Healthcare, said in a statement to Healthline at that time, “We are now learning that many Americans who hunkered down over the past year and a half to avoid infection report that their diet is even poorer, they feel more isolated, and are experiencing higher levels of additional stress from COVID-19.”

“Research shows that we can expect a greater wave of death and disability from chronic diseases due to these factors — compounded by the fact that many patients have also avoided regular medical checkups for chronic conditions,” the doctor added presciently.

We now know that the doctor’s concerns have been proven correct, but according to the ConscienHealth medical blog, public health officials have done nothing with this new knowledge except double-down on the failed strategies of the past to address diabetes — promote better nutrition, suggest increased taxes on sugary drinks, and propose greater government regulations on the food and beverage industry, rather than encourage active and healthy lifestyles and weight reduction.