Diabetes, Obesity Becoming Epidemic

ATLANTA (AP) â€” Diabetes in the United States rose by about 6 percent in 1999 in what the government called dramatic evidence of an unfolding epidemic. <br><br>Cases rose sharply across almost every demographic

Friday, January 26th 2001, 12:00 am

By: News On 6

ATLANTA (AP) â€” Diabetes in the United States rose by about 6 percent in 1999 in what the government called dramatic evidence of an unfolding epidemic.

Cases rose sharply across almost every demographic category, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said. The rise is blamed largely on obesity, which was up a startling 57 percent from 1991.

``The message is out there â€” lose weight by increasing your physical activity and changing your diet,'' CDC epidemiologist Ali Mokdar said. ``But nobody is doing it.''

The share of the adult population diagnosed with diabetes jumped from about 6.5 percent in 1998 to 6.9 percent in 1999, the CDC said. The obesity rate increased to nearly one in five Americans â€” up from just 12 percent in 1991.

Last August, the CDC reported that diabetes jumped 33 percent nationally, to 6.5 percent, between 1990 and 1998. The rise crossed races and age groups but was sharpest â€” about 70 percent â€” among people ages 30 to 39.

CDC director Jeffrey Koplan said the effect on the nation's health care costs will be overwhelming if the trends continue. ``This dramatic new evidence signals the unfolding of an epidemic in the United States,'' he said.

The statistics, released Friday by the CDC, appear in the February issue of the journal Diabetes Care. The report is based on a telephone survey of 150,000 Americans.

At least 16 million Americans have diabetes, which prevents the body from regulating blood sugar. The number is expected to rise to 22 million by 2025.

Diabetes is a leading cause of blindness, kidney failure and amputations and dramatically raises the risk of heart attacks. It kills 180,000 Americans each year.

Experts have blamed America's couch-potato culture for the obesity that leads to diabetes. Computer-centered lifestyles, easy fast food and disappearing space for outdoor exercise all have been cited.

In many cases, Mokdar said, Americans who do exercise don't do it often enough, and many cut fat from their diets without paying attention to crucial calories.

The CDC reported an especially large rise in the diabetes rate in 1999 among blacks â€” more than 10 percent in just one year. Whites, Hispanics and other racial groups also had higher rates in 1999.

The diabetes rate fell among only one age group from 1998 to 1999 â€” people in their 30s. But that age group saw a huge rise from 1990 to 1998, up about 70 percent.

``This used to be a disease that came late in life,'' Mokdar said. ``Now it's coming in kids as young as the early 20s. That's alarming.''

Dr. Robert Sherwin, president of the American Diabetes Association, said he expects the problem to get worse over the next several years.

``The American way of life tends to favor inactivity,'' he said. ``We're going to need a major education program in the schools to reverse this.''

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On the Net:

CDC's Diabetes Public Health Resource: http://www.cdc.gov/diabetes

American Diabetes Association: http://www.diabetes.org