(10-06-06) Obesity, aging boomers push diabetes rise

SIOUX FALLS, S.D., The healthcare industry is taking aim at the rise of diabetes in the United States.
Diabetes in the United States has risen 14 percent since 2003, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The increase is being fueled by aging baby boomers and rising obesity rates, the Sioux Falls (S.D.) Argus Leader reported.
The CDC estimates that 6.2 million people aren't aware they have diabetes. Some don't know until it's too late.
"It's hard to work on something that you don't even feel is there," said Rhonda Jensen, a diabetes clinical nurse specialist at Sioux Valley Hospital, which is trying to stem the rising tide through prevention education and new treatment options, the newspaper said.
In South Dakota, 6.5 percent of adults have diabetes. Most have the type 2 variety, which is closely linked to genetics, age and weight.
While 21 percent of people in the United States 60 or older are diabetic, type 2 diabetes has been changing from a disease that affects mostly seniors to a chronic condition that has been seen in children as young as 3 or 4, Jensen said.

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