In United States, the rates of new cases of type 2 diabetes have got nearly doubled in the last 10 years and most of these cases appearing in southern states, according to federal officials report.

From 1995 to 1997, new diagnosis of type 2 diabetes were 4.8 per people and from 2005 to 2007, they rose to 9.1 per 1000 people. Officials say that this increase in new cases is the result of high obesity rates, as it’s a leading cause of the blood sugar disease.

Study author Karen Kirtland, who is a data analysts in CDC’s Division of Diabetes Translation, says: “Obesity and inactivity are to major risk factors for type 2 diabetes and we it’s a known fact that South has a high prevalence of physical inactivity and obesity if compared to the other parts of the country.”