We Can Dance!

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Monday, August 28, 2006

New Study Seeks to Lower Diabetes Risk in Youth
As schools across the country reopen their doors this fall, hundreds of sixth
graders in 42 middle schools will begin taking part in a study sponsored by the
National Institutes of Health (NIH). The HEALTHY study will determine if changes in
school food services and physical education (PE) classes, along with activities that
encourage healthy behaviors, lower risk factors for type 2 diabetes, an increasingly
common disease in youth.

“The alarming rise in obesity and type 2 diabetes in all age groups poses a major
public health crisis for this country. This important study is one component of a
multi-faceted research agenda to address this dual epidemic, which threatens the
health of our youth and the vitality of our health care system,” said NIH Director
Elias A. Zerhouni, M.D.

Participating schools will be randomly assigned to a program group, which implements
the changes, or to a comparison group, which continues to offer food choices and PE
programs typically seen in middle schools across the country. Students in the
program group will have

healthier choices from the cafeteria and vending machines (e.g., lower fat foods,
more fruits and vegetables, and drinks with no added sugar)
longer, more intense periods of physical activity, and
activities and awareness campaigns that promote long-term healthy behaviors.
After 2.5 years, all students will be tested for diabetes risk factors, including
blood levels of glucose, insulin, and lipids. They will also be measured for fitness
level, blood pressure, height, weight, and waist circumference.

“The school environment can have a profound effect on the behavior and health of
young people. From this study we hope to learn if better food options, improvements
in physical activity programs, and education about eating better and moving more
result in healthier kids and a lower risk of type 2 diabetes,” said study chair Gary
Foster, Ph.D., of Temple University.

The study is being conducted by researchers at
Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, TX
University of California at Irvine, CA
University of No rth Carolina at Chapel Hill, NC
Oregon Health and Science University, Portland, OR
Temple University, Philadelphia, PA
University of Pittsburgh Medical Center, Pittsburgh, PA
University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio, TX
George Washington University, Washington, D.C. (Coordinating Center)
In planning the HEALTHY study, researchers relied on the results of six pilot
studies. In one such study, about half of eighth graders in 12 schools were
overweight or at risk for overweight. Few had diabetes, but about 41 percent had
abnormally high readings of fasting blood glucose, pointing to a much higher risk of
developing type 2 diabetes.

Type 2 diabetes is closely linked to being overweight, inactive, and having a family
history of diabetes. Nearly two-thirds of U.S. adults are overweight or obese, with
a body mass index (BMI) of 25 or more. Among youth 2 to 19 years old, 17 percent are
overweight (i.e., have a BMI at the 95th percentile or more for their age and sex) -
triple the rate in 1980. About the same percentage of youth have a BMI between the
85th and 95th percentile for their age and sex, putting them at risk for becoming
overweight.

Type 1 diabetes, which affects up to 1 million people in the United States, develops
when the body’s immune system destroys the insulin-producing beta cells of the
pancreas. This form of diabetes usually strikes children and young adults, who need
several insulin injections a day or an insulin pump to survive. The HEALTHY study is
aimed at preventing type 2 diabetes. Other NIH-funded studies are trying to prevent
type 1 diabetes in centers nationwide:
http://www.nih.gov/news/pr/jun2006/niddk-09.htm.

The longer a person has diabetes, the greater the chances of developing serious
damage to the eyes, nerves, heart, kidneys, and blood vessels. “We’re already seeing
kids in their late teens with early complications from type 2 diabetes,” said
Francine Kaufman, M.D., director of the Comprehensive Childhood Diabetes Center at
the Childrens Hospital Los Angeles, where type 2 diabetes accounts for more than 20
percent of new childhood diabetes cases. “As a society, we need to address the
obesity epidemic if we’re going to have any success containing the rising rate of
type 2 diabetes in kids. A logical place to start is in our schools.”

Once seen only in adults, type 2 diabetes has been rising steadily in youth. While
there are no national data on the prevalence of type 2 diabetes in youth, clinics
around the country are reporting that more young people, especially from minority
groups, are developing the disease. Studies in Cincinnati, Los Angeles, San Antonio,
and other cities conclude that cases of type 2 diabetes in youth have risen
dramatically since 1994, when less than 5 percent of new childhood diabetes cases
were type 2. By 1999, type 2 diabetes accounted for 8 to 45 percent of new childhood
diabetes cases, varying by geographic location. Some diabetes centers are now seeing
more new cases of type 2 diabetes than type 1.

Nearly 21 million people in the United States – 7 percent of the population – have
diabetes, the most common cause of blindness, kidney failure, and amputations in
adults and a major cause of heart disease and stroke. Type 2 diabetes accounts for
up to 95 percent of all diabetes cases in adults, and about one-third of those
affected don’t know they have it. The prevalence of type 2 diabetes has risen
dramatically in the last 30 years, due mostly to the upsurge in obesity. In
addition, at least 54 million U.S. adults age 20 and older have pre-diabetes, which
independently raises the risk of developing type 2 diabetes and cardiovascular
disease.

Results from the HEALTHY study are expected in 2009. Sponsored by the National
Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases (NIDDK), the study is part
of a broad research initiative, called STOPP T2D (Studies to Treat or Prevent
Pediatric Type 2 Diabetes), which seeks to improve the treatment and prevention of
type 2 diabetes in youth. The American Diabetes Association (ADA) co-sponsors the
HEALTHY study, and the Institute for Public Health and Water Research supports the
study through a grant to the ADA.

The NIH has undertaken a rigorous research agenda to enhance new research in areas
of greatest scientific opportunity.
[http://www.obesityresearch.nih.gov/About/strategic-plan.htm] The NIH also sponsors
We Can! – Ways to Enhance Children’s Activity and Nutrition, a program to prevent
childhood obesity, which encourages parents and children to adopt healthy eating
habits, increase physical activity, and reduce leisure “screen time.” We Can!
materials, including fact sheets, brochures and curricula for adults and children,
are available at http://wecan.nhlbi.nih.gov or by calling toll-free 1-866-35-WECAN.

The NIDDK, a component of the NIH, conducts and supports research in diabetes and
other endocrine and metabolic diseases; digestive diseases, nutrition, and obesity;
and kidney, urologic and hematologic diseases. Spanning the full spectrum of
medicine and afflicting people of all ages and ethnic groups, these diseases
encompass some of the most common, severe, and disabling conditions affecting
Americans. For more information about NIDDK and its programs, see www.niddk.nih.gov.
The National Institutes of Health (NIH) – The Nation’s Medical Research Agency -
includes 27 Institutes and Centers and is a component of the U.S. Department of
Health and Human Services. It is the primary federal agency for conducting and
supporting basic, clinical and translational medical research, and it investigates
the causes, treatments, and cures for both common and rare diseases. For more
information about NIH and its programs, visit www.nih.gov.