ATLANTA (AP) _ 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 _ 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 _ 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 _ about 70 percent _ 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 _ 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 _ 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."

     ___

     On the Net:

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

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

     Keywords: U.S. Domestic
     © The Associative Press
     ERIN McCLAM; Associated Press Writer
     CDC: Diabetes, obesity becoming epidemic,01-25-2001

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