The number of diabetes cases in America is on the rise.

A new report from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention shows 12 percent of the adult population has the disease and more than a third of those aged 20 and older in the U.S. are now thought to have pre-diabetic conditions.

Jennifer Hilmes is a nurse and diabetes educator at Yakima Valley Memorial Hospital who says the symptoms are easy to spot and easy to ignore.

Increased thirst, increased urination … fatigue. Those are the most common symptoms. Infections that won’t go away.

Hilmes says Memorial started offering a diabetes prevention program in December. A study of the program shows that people who reduced their weight by 7 percent and increased their physical activity to 150 minutes per week reduced their risk of diabetes by 58 percent. And participants over age 70 reduced their risk by 70 percent.

For more information check out yakimamemorial.org, or call 249-5317.

More From News Talk KIT