Obesity Blamed for Rise in Diabetes

 An ‘alarming’ rise in obesity has contributed to a dramatic increase in the prevalence of diabetes in the U.S, according to a new study. Researchers examined the prevalence of diabetes, prediabetes, and glycemic control in 43,439 adults in the NHANES study from 1988 to 1994 and 1999 to 2010. The authors suggest that the increase in diabetes rates can be explained by the increase in obesity, and in an accompanying editorial, writers also attribute the increase in diabetes prevalence to dietary changes and lack of physical activity. The mean BMI of the U.S. adult population also increased significantly over the study period and the prevalence of obesity increased from 21.2% in 1988 to 1994 to 32% among persons without diagnosed diabetes in 2005 to 2010. Annals of Internal Medicine. April 2014