[HelpPeople]

[Wellness Section]

[Sleep]

[Proper Computer Work Positions Checklist]

[Nutrition: Fact or Fiction]

[Diabetes Rate Soars]

[Nutrition in Exercise and Sport]

[Food @ You]

The prevalence of diabetes in adults, once thought to be primarily a disease of middle age or older, jumped nearly 70% among people in their 30’s in the last decade, a report says. Overall, diabetes increased 33% from 1990 to 1998, U.S. health officials say.

Researchers with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) found diabetes more common across all ages, races and educational levels. The increase was greatest among Hispanics, for whom the rate shot up 38%, compared with 29% for whites and 26% for blacks.

The dramatic rise in prevalence among people ages 30 to 39 “is not surprising,” says endocrinologist Frank Vinicor of the CDC’s division of diabetes. “We’re seeing the greatest increase in obesity and lack of physical activity in that age group,” he says. “It used to be the average onset of Type 2 diabetes was age 50. Now we’re seeing it in the 40’s and also beginning to see Type 2 diabetes in the teenage years.

Type 2 diabetes occurs when the body does not produce enough insulin or does not use it effectively. Added pounds and a lack of exercise make the body more resistant to its own insulin. “The insulin- producing cells tend to peter out, become exhausted,” Vinicor says.

“Improved diagnosis may play a small role, but the bulk of the growth probably is due to lifestyle,” he says. “We’re now beginning to see the consequences of physical inactivity and weight gain that go well beyond feeling good about yourself or cosmetic issues.”