Overweight and obese “baby boomers” are entering their senior years with weight-related problems that are plaguing their “golden years” with problems, increasing the need for nursing homes and medical care.

Already faced with a nursing care shortage in America, experts are projecting a need for an additional 10-25 percent of nursing home care, and an explosion in weight-related Type 2 diabetes.

Studies show that overweight parents are also producing, via poor eating habits and lack of exercise regimens, overweight children with an increase of Type 2 diabetes.

Surprisingly, studies show that meat consumption, a major factor in obesity, is down in the U.S.

Type 2 diabetes is more common than type 1 diabetes, where in both cases the body has trouble controlling blood sugar due to problems with insulin, a hormone that controls blood sugar. In type 1 diabetes, the body loses its ability to make insulin. In type 2 diabetes, the body can still make insulin, but not enough and the body has to ramp-up insulin production and loses its ability to keep pace with demand, leading to high levels of blood sugar.

“The cause of the increase in diabetes incidence is likely related to changes in obesity and lifestyle,” writes Dr. Caroline Fox in a recent study in the journal Circulation. “Obesity and weight gain are the leading risk factors for the development of diabetes.”

Diabetes often goes undiagnosed. The National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases (NIDDK) lists warning symptoms such as being very thirsty, urinating often, feeling very hungry or tired, losing weight without trying, having sores that heal slowly, having dry, itchy skin, losing the feeling in your feet or having tingling in your feet, and having blurry eyesight. If you’re concerned about persistent symptoms, see a doctor for a diabetes evaluation.