Diabetes is a significant health problem in the United States. Some 23.6 million Americans have diabetes and, each year, 1.6 million adults are newly diagnosed with this condition. About 5 to 10 percent of people with diabetes have type 1 diabetes. Sometimes called insulin-dependent or juvenile-onset diabetes, this form of the disease typically strikes in childhood or young adulthood. It is caused by a failure of the pancreas to produce insulin, perhaps because of autoimmune disease, genetic abnormality or injury. People with type 1 diabetes must take insulin shots.

Type 2 diabetes is far more common and affects 90 to 95 percent of people with diabetes. It is often linked to obesity and a lack of physical activity. In the past, this form of the disease was called adult-onset diabetes, but today more and more children are being diagnosed with type 2 diabetes.