"For now, we're not saying they're cured, but the bottom line is ... good glucose control means less infection," says Sue McLaughlin, president of healthcare and education for ADA. The organization has no estimate of how many people fall into that category.

Being overweight is the leading risk for Type 2 diabetes. Genetics also plays a role, and blacks, Hispanics and American Indians are at greater risk than whites.

The number of people around the world suffering from diabetes has skyrocketed in the past two decades, from 30 million to 230 million, claiming millions of lives, according to the International Diabetes Federation.

The future is potentially even more gloomy. The World Health Organization estimates the number of diabetics will exceed 350 million by 2030.

But the news isn't all bad. Thirty minutes of daily exercise and a 5 to 10 percent loss in body weight can lower the odds of diabetes by nearly 60 percent and is more effective than medicine in delaying its onset, according to a diabetes prevention study.

Still, such lifestyle changes are often difficult.

"It sounds like such a non-medical recommendation, and yet it's the thing people say is the toughest to implement," says McLaughlin, the diabetes association official.

For Wagner, it meant changing not just her diet, but her lifestyle. A teacher, she now cooks most of her meals at home and avoids the sweets in the school lounge. She also tries not to stay late at work, using the extra time to exercise and make healthy meals.

Whatever the route, weight loss is key, doctors say.

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