Unfit at 20, Diabetes at 40

And one more time...

"Twenty-somethings who aren't physically fit may be at an increased risk of developing diabetes in middle age, researchers said.

Those with low aerobic fitness levels as measured by a treadmill test were two to three times more likely to develop the disease over a 20-year period, Mercedes Carnethon, PhD, of Northwestern University, and colleagues reported online in Diabetes Care.

'[Patients] who have low fitness in their late teens and 20s tend to stay the same later in life or even get worse,' Dr. Carnethon said. 'Not many climb out of that category.'

The researchers have previously reported that improved fitness over seven years was associated with a lower likelihood of developing diabetes."

"Fitness is the only REAL preventive medicine." (tm)