A dramatic rise in the number of North Dakota children with Type 2 diabetes — a form of diabetes normally seen in adults — provides more evidence of a link between the disease and childhood obesity, experts say.

The likely connection between an increase in obesity and Type 2 diabetes in children and adolescents has come to light only in the past decade, and officials still are working to compile nationwide trend data and study the best ways to treat youth with Type 2.

A lead investigator of an ongoing national study on Type 2 diabetes in children, Elizabeth Mayer-Davis at the University of North Carolina, said the North Dakota data highlight the need to combat childhood obesity, which some are calling a modern-day epidemic.

Livestock Called Main Source of Food Poisoning

Animals farmed for meat and poultry are the principle source of food poisoning in humans, according to new research published in PLoS Genetics.

Using a new method of evolution-based gene-typing, a group of American and British researchers found that 97% of the infections reviewed came through the food chain, from chicken, cattle, and sheep. Previous studies had shown that the majority of cases were caused by wild animals or environmental sources.

The spread of the disease may be cut by improving food hygiene during preparation and by enforcing on-farm security measures, the leader of the research, Daniel Wilson of the University of Chicago, said.Bloomberg News