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NEW YORK, May 11, 2005 (United Press International via COMTEX) -- A University of Colorado and Sheba Medical Center in Israel study says type 2 diabetes among children has increased in the past 15 years.
Researchers Orit Pinhas-Hamiel of Sheba Medical Center and Philip Zeitler of the University of Colorado reviewed articles and reports on type 2 diabetes in children and adolescents between 1978 and 2004. They found dramatically increases in areas such as New York, Taiwan, New Zealand and Canada.
The study, published in the May issue of The Journal of Pediatrics, said increases were particularly striking among certain ethnic groups. For example, 80 percent of new cases of pediatric diabetes in Japan and 70 percent of new cases among Native Americans are classified as type 2 diabetes. The Pima Indians in Central Arizona have the world's highest recorded rate of type 2 diabetes in adults, in addition to high rates of obesity.
The authors said obesity-related illness is rapidly becoming a global problem and the need is urgent to develop strategies to reverse lifestyle changes that cause the disorders.
Copyright 2005 by United Press International.
