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A type of diabetes that normally occurs only in adults is now affecting an increasing number of children and adolescents, portending potential future disaster, according to studies from the United States, Canada and Japan. Virtually all of the reports emphasize that obesity in children and teens seems to play a major role in the early development of the disease.
Nearly 16 million Americans have diabetes, a group of serious diseases characterized by high blood sugar levels that result from defects in the body’s ability to produce and/or use insulin. Diabetes can lead to severely debilitating or fatal complications, such as blindness, kidney disease, heart disease and amputations. It is the sixth-leading cause of death by disease in the U.S.