New diabetes cases fall but obesity rates are up 

Despite high rates of obesity in the U.S., new cases of diabetes are paradoxically going down, a new study finds. CDC researchers found the number of new diabetes cases fell from 1.7 million in 2009 to 1.3 million in 2017. This downward trend was only true for whites and Asians, and those with at least a high school education. Obesity and type 2 diabetes usually go hand-in-hand, but the new study was unable to reliably distinguish between type 1 and type 2 diabetes, which could limit any explanation of why obesity and diabetes rates aren’t trending the same way. The study authors say a few changes since the late 1990s could be behind the decrease, including a change in how diabetes is diagnosed.