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SEATTLE (AP) - The prevalence of diabetes has about doubled in the state's most populous county over the last decade, and public health officials believe eating habits are the main culprit.
According to a report issued Monday by the Seattle-King County public health department, 5.6 percent of the county's residents had the chronic disease as of last year, lower than the national average of 7.3 percent but still a big jump from the 2.8 percent reported for 1996.
Diabetes occurs when the body fails to produce enough insulin or is resistant to insulin, resulting in too much sugar in the blood. Without treatment it can lead to heart attacks, kidney failure, blindness and foot or leg amputations.
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