According to a report released by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the rate of new cases of diagnosed diabetes in the United States has nearly doubled in the past ten years.

"This dramatic increase in the number of people with diabetes highlights the increasing burden of diabetes across the country," CDC data analyst Karen Kirtland, PhD, says in a news release.

Newly diagnosed cases of diabetes rose to 9.1 per 1,000 people annually between 2005 and 2007 up from 4.8 per 1,000 between 1995 and 1997, the report found.

The risk factors for type 2 diabetes, the most common form of diabetes, include obesity and inactivity. Previous studies have found that people suffering from type 2 diabetes who lose weight shortly after diagnosis, are up to twice as likely to maintain control of their disease than people who keep their body weight at the same level or who put on weight. Other risk factors include older age, lower educational attainment and low physical activity.

Another phenomenon noted in the report, based on data from 33 states, was that the incidence of newly diagnosed diabetes varied from state to state. West Virginia, South Carolina, Alabama, Georgia, Texas and Tennessee had the highest rates, at 11 cases per 1,000 people, or higher. Minnesota, Hawaii and Wyoming had the lowest rates, about 5/6 per 1,000 people. West Virginia has the highest annual diabetes rate - 12.7 new diabetes cases for every 1,000 residents.

The report notes that people with high risk for type 2 diabetes account for 90 to 95 percent of all diabetes cases in the U.S. Studies conclude that "a 5%--10% reduction in body weight coupled with 30 minutes of moderate physical activity 5 days a week resulted in a 58% reduction in diabetes over a 3-year period."