The Surge In Diabetes

The Sacramento Bee reports:

The number of Americans diagnosed with diabetes -- which can run in families -- increased 61 percent in the past decade as it afflicted more children, according to the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Surveys estimate as many as 20 million Americans have the disease.

Experts blame excess weight and lack of exercise for the vast majority of cases. Latinos and African Americans have been the hardest hit: Children in these groups born after 2000 stand a 50 percent chance of becoming diabetic at some point in their life, according to CDC projections.

The disease is widespread in densely populated communities like East Los Angeles -- where fast-food restaurants are easier to find than fresh vegetables, and recreational facilities are in short supply.

Dr. Anne Peters, who runs the diabetes programs at the Roybal center and the University of Southern California School of Medicine, calls East Los Angeles the "epicenter of the diabetes epidemic."

Maybe that urban lifestyle isn't so healthy.