Emory Study Finds More Obese Americans Suffering from Diabetes

A study led by researchers at found that more obese Americans are suffering from diabetes at a younger age.

The study found that the number of 18-year-olds expected to develop diabetes in their lifetime increased by 50-percent among women and nearly doubled among men.

“Our findings also indicate that diabetes incidence among obese individuals has moved to younger ages over the past 20 years which means more people will be living longer with the disease,” said Solveig A. Cunningham, lead researcher on the study and assistant professor of the Hubert Department of Global Health at Emory’s Rollins School of Public Health.

Cunningham and researchers at Emory, the and University of Colorado also found that although the life expectancy rate among 18-year-old Americans has increased over the past 20 years, obese 18-year-old men and women live roughly two to five fewer years without diabetes.

 “We found a pattern that points to a prolonged period of health problems rather than longer healthy lifespans, but only among obese individuals,” Cunningham said. “Among non-obese individuals, who represent the majority of the population, lifetimes without diabetes increased during the same period. Therefore, diabetes prevention efforts should now be focused on obese individuals.”

According to the American Diabetes Association, 34-percent of the U.S. adult population is obese and more than one third of Americans are expected to develop diabetes over their lifetimes. Research also shows that diabetes can be prevented by exercise and a healthy diet.

The research led by Cunningham was published in an online version of Diabetes Care on Sept. 23. For information about the Rollins School of Public Health, visit the Emory University website.