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New York – The diagnosis of new cases of diabetes in adults increased by more than 90 percent over the past 10 years in the United States, according to a study released today.

The new report from the Centers of Disease and Prevention (CDC), which was published today in the Weekly Morbidity and Mortality of CDC (Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report, or MMWR), shows that in the last decade the incidence of diagnosed diabetes rose in 33 states of 4.8 per 1,000 persons during 1995-1997 to 9.1 per 1,000 during 2005-2007.

“The risk factors for type 2 diabetes include obesity and inactivity, and we know the South has a high prevalence of both obesity and physical inactivity when compared to the other regions in the United States,” said study author Karen Kirtland, a data analyst in the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s Division of Diabetes Translation.

The study was based on information from the Surveillance System Behavioral Risk Factors (BRFSS), that collects incidence of diabetes in 43 states and two U.S. territories, though only 33 states have sufficient information to make a comparative analysis between the two periods.

“The message that we want to get out is to promote lifestyle interventions for people who are at risk for diabetes,” Kirtland said. “People who are at risk for the disease may be able to delay it or prevent it by losing weight, being physically active and making healthy food choices.”

During the 2005-2007 period, the states which recorded an increased number of new cases were California, with about 208,000; Texas with 156,000, and Florida with 139,000.

A recent study by the CDC, based in Atlanta, found that the prevalence of obesity in 2007 was higher in southern U.S. with a 27.3 per cent, followed by 26.5 percent in the states of the Midwest, a 24.4 per cent in the north-west and 23.1 percent in the west.

Also, rates of obesity in Alabama, Mississippi and Tennessee exceeded 30 percent.

Kirkland also stressed the importance of emphasis on prevention to reduce the number of cases of diabetes or delay the onset of the disease.

Through the Division of Applied Diabetes, CDC funded programs for the control and prevention of diabetes in 50 states and the District of Columbia and other U.S. territories

The National Education Program on Diabetes, which coordinated with the CDC and the National Institutes of Health (NIH), provides information about diabetes, treatment options and promotes early diagnosis.