U.S. rate of diabetes is growing rapidly, report says

WASHINGTON Health officials said Thursday that new cases of diabetes in the United States have almost doubled in the last 10 years.

Newly diagnosed cases were 4.8 per 1,000 people a year between 1995 and 1997. By the 2005-2007 period, however, they had increased to 9.1 per 1,000, according to a report by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention that included data from 33 states.

Between 90 and 95 percent of the new cases are Type 2 diabetes, which is linked to obesity and has increased in prevalence with the obesity epidemic.

Of the 10 states with the largest increases, nine were southern states, namely Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, Louisiana, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas and West Virginia; the only non-southern state among the top 10 was Arizona, and Puerto Rico had more cases per 1,000 people than West Virginia. The lowest rate was in Minnesota.

Health experts say the risk of diabetes decreases when people lose small amounts of weight and get more exercise.

According to the American Diabetes Association, 8 percent of the U.S. population has diabetes, or 23.6 million people.