World Diabetes Day is being observed today with an urgent message from the American Diabetes Association in Hawaii: Get tested now if you are in a high-risk group or have any symptoms of the disease.

The diabetes rate is growing to the extent that the disease will eventually strike one in two Americans, starting with those born in the year 2000, if trends continue.

In Hawaii the picture is worse: Nearly two out of three children born in 2000 will be struck with the disease during their lifetimes because of disproportionately affected ethnic groups, said Majken Mechling, executive director of the ADA in Hawaii.

“;So in the future we're looking at even more numbers,”; she said, telling people with “;red flags”; for the disease to get tested “;because we could prevent so many complications if it's caught earlier.”;

An estimated 110,000 isle residents have the chronic, debilitating disease, including about 26,000 who are undiagnosed, according to the ADAH.

A federal study listed Hawaii earlier this month as one of three states with the lowest rates of new diabetes cases, but Mechling said it did not look at Hawaii's high-risk populations: Pacific islanders, Filipinos and Japanese. “;Those ethnic groups are not decreasing in rates of diabetes.”;

Type 1 diabetes, formerly called juvenile diabetes, is an autoimmune disease that occurs when the body's immune cells destroy insulin-producing cells in the pancreas. It cannot be prevented or cured and requires insulin for survival, either from injections or a pump.

Type 2 diabetes, also known as adult-onset diabetes, occurs when the body develops resistance to insulin. It is fast increasing in children and adolescents.

It is type 2 that is affecting Hawaii, linked with obesity and a sedentary lifestyle, but it can be prevented with lifestyle changes, Mechling said.

“;Prevention to me is the key to the future—educating our children on healthy choices and lifestyles,”; she said.

Warning signs of diabetes can include frequent urination, extreme thirst, increased hunger, weight loss, fatigue, lack of interest and concentration, blurred vision and vomiting and stomach pain, often attributed to flu.

The number of Americans with diabetes increased 61 percent from 1990 to 2001 and 14 percent since the 2004 estimate, for a total of 23.6 million, the ADA said. Worldwide, diabetics number 246 million.

World Diabetes Day is an attempt to create global awareness about the diabetes epidemic, said Dr. Laurie Tom, president of the ADAH Community Leadership Board.

Clare Rosenfeld, a Lewis & Clark College student, became the ADA's national youth advocate, founded the International Diabetes Youth Ambassadors and helped to launch a global campaign.

In Hawaii the World Diabetes Day Committee called for increased community awareness of diabetes risk factors and symptoms.