Thursday, August 24, 2006

Diabetes rising among Native Tribes

Diabetes still rising among Indians
 

OKLAHOMA CITY American Indians have the highest incidenceof diabetes among racial groups but health officials say there's still time for prevention.

Tribal leaders, health professionals and American Indian health specialists from across the country are attending the four-day Diabetes Prevention Conference that started Monday in Oklahoma City.

Speakers say studies show that lifestyle changes including diet, exercise and weight loss significantly reduce diabetes risk in all populations.

Experts project that a quarter of all non-Hispanic whites and 50 percent of all people of color born in 2000 will develop diabetes in their lifetimes.

But Doctor Richard Hamman of the University of Colorado's Department of Preventive Medicine says one study suggests that for every two-point-two pounds of weight loss, there is a 16 percent reduction in diabetes risk.

The conference is sponsored by the Indian Health Service and the Oklahoma Native American EXPORT Center.

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