The Hidden Crisis No One Is Talking About: Our Heroes Are Losing More Limbs to Food Than to War

Written By Joe Fisher

Most Americans never hear this stat — but it should stop all of us in our tracks.

According to data highlighted by the Amputee Coalition, more than 100,000 Americans with diabetes lose a limb every single year.
One year. Not decades of injuries — one year.
➡️ Source: The Guardian / Amputee Coalition

And when you zoom in on the veteran population, the picture gets even harder to ignore.

Veterans Face Nearly Double the Diabetes Rate of Civilians

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the American Diabetes Association, and multiple U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs reports all point to the same reality:

  • Veterans have nearly double the diabetes rate of the general population

  • Veterans experience higher vascular disease

  • Veterans face higher risk of lower-limb amputation
    ➡️ Source: VA Diabetes Care Report

When you merge those datasets, the math becomes undeniable:

An estimated 12,000–18,000 U.S. veterans lose limbs every year — not to combat, but to diabetes and metabolic disease.

Now compare that with combat-related amputations:

  • According to the Department of Defense and the DoD-VA Extremity Trauma and Amputation Center of Excellence, ~1,700 U.S. service members lost limbs in Iraq and Afghanistan combined.

  • That number spans two decades of war.

So in one single year, we lose 10–15 times more veteran limbs to metabolic disease than we lost in 20 years of combat.

This Isn’t Just a Health Problem. it’s a National Readiness Issue.

This crisis affects:

  • Military readiness

  • Veteran long-term quality of life

  • First Responder performance

  • Community stability

  • Healthcare system strain

And nearly all of it is preventable.

Metabolic Disease Is Hitting Our Military, Veterans, and First Responders Hardest

The people who gave the most — the ones who ran toward danger, who carried the weight for the rest of us — are now carrying a different kind of burden:

  • Chronic inflammation

  • Hormonal disruption

  • Poor sleep

  • Weight gain

  • Loss of drive, purpose, and community

  • Silent suffering no one sees

This isn’t their fault.
It’s a system failure.

And it’s exactly why 98 Octane exists.

98 Octane: Fixing the Root Cause

At 98 Octane, we focus on what’s actually driving this epidemic:

  • Food & nutrition education

  • Metabolic health fundamentals

  • Chronic inflammation reduction

  • Lifestyle stabilization after service

  • Real tools and real community support

No judgment.
No blame.
No politics.
Just clarity, direction, and action — completely free for Military, Veterans, and First Responders.

This is preventable.
The data proves it.
The outcomes prove it.
And the urgency could not be higher.

If You’re in Healthcare, Policy, Research, Tech, or Community Impact — This Is the Moment to Lock Arms

We can stop these preventable losses before they start.
We can change the trajectory of an entire generation of heroes.
But it takes alignment, collaboration, and the courage to call this crisis what it is.

Lives and limbs depend on it.

Joe Fisher
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VFMA 2025