Health Highlights: Nov. 25, 2009

Nov. 26 -- Here are some of the latest health and medical news developments, compiled by editors of HealthDay:

Many Type 2 Diabetes Patients Morbidly Obese: U.S. Study

Twenty percent of Americans with type 2 diabetes are more than 100 pounds overweight (morbidly obese), according to a Loyola University Health System study.

"The rate of morbid obesity among people with diabetes is increasing at a very alarming rate, and this has substantial public health implications," lead author Dr. Holly Kramer said in a news release, United Press International reported.

An analysis of national data showed that 62.4 percent of U.S. adults with type 2 diabetes are obese and 20.7 are morbidly obese, or have a body mass index of more than 40.

Kramer and colleagues also found that morbid obesity among type 2 diabetes patients increased 141 percent from 1976 to 1980 and 2005 to 2006, UPI reported.

The study appears online in the Journal of Diabetes and its Complications.

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Injection Drug Users at High Risk for HIV

Injection drug users continue to account for a large proportion of newly diagnosed HIV cases in the United States, says a Centers for Disease Control and Prevention study.

Researchers analyzed data collected in 34 states between 2004 and 2007 and found that injection drug users (IDUs) accounted for 13 percent of all new HIV diagnoses.

Among the injection drug users diagnosed with HIV, most were male (62 percent), black (58 percent) and lived in an urban area (75 percent). One-third were people ages 33 to 44.

Black IDUs had a 12-fold higher HIV diagnosis rate than whites (11 per 100,000 population vs. 0.9/100,000), while the rate for Hispanic IDUs was 4.9/100,000.

The CDC researchers called for comprehensive HIV prevention programs for injection drug users, including HIV testing, substance abuse treatment and access to sterile syringes, condoms and other health services.