August 31, 2000
		Diabetes on the Rise According to a report released by researchers on August 24, the incidence of diabetes increased by 33 percent in the U.S. from 1990 to 1998, and they warn that the disease will aversely affect disability, death and medical expenses in decades to come. Particularly noteworthy is the 76 percent rise in Type 2, or adult onset diabetes, among people in their 30s. Type 2 diabetes accounts for 90 to 95 percent of all cases of the disease. Until recently, Type 2 diabetes was rarely seen in anyone younger than 45. Today, doctors are reporting in increasing incidence among teenagers, as more become overweight or obese. The study, which will be published August 24 in the journal Diabetes Care, also found that the risk of diabetes increases by 4 percent for each pound of excess weight. Health experts attribute much of the increase to obesity, which also dramatically increased - from 44 to 54 percent - during the same time period. More than half of all Americans are now overweight. Doctors attribute this to a high consumption of high fat, sugar-and calorie-laden food and a sedentary lifestyle. Meanwhile, researchers expect that Type 2 diabetes will continue to increase, because there is a lag between the development of obesity and the onset of the disease. Type 1 diabetes, which accounts for most of the remaining 5 to 10 percent of cases, is caused by a malfunction of the immune system and is not linked to obesity. "We're having enough trouble taking care of people today," said Dr. Frank Vinicor, director of the diabetes division at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and co-author of the study. "It's going to get considerably worse in the future." Complications resulting from the disease are blindness, kidney failure and leg amputations. It also greatly increases the risk of heart disease and stroke. The cost of the disease is estimated at $98 billion a year. Among the ways we can combat the rise of diabetes, Dr. Vinicor said: "We need to insure that people are informed about healthy choices of foods, that when you build new homes there are sidewalks where people can walk and be active, that schools reinstate physical education and that cafeterias at schools offer healthy foods." "Expensive as we think health care is today, with these chronic conditions coming on it's going to be very threatening to quality of life as well as cost issues," said Dr. Vinicor. "If we saw a 33 percent increase in infectious diseases like tuberculosis or AIDS, I believe there would be an understandable demand for action. We can't just view inactivity and overweight as purely a kind of cosmetic thing. It's got to be viewed as a serious public health issue."