The burden of diabetes is well documented. Adverse health conditions, disability, reduced quality of life, and heightened risk of premature death characterize the progression of this disease (1–3). The considerable personal burden of diabetes is magnified by the penetration of the disease into the American population. By the age of 60, approx 1 in 10 Caucasians, 1 in 6 Latinos, and 1 in 5 African Americans, have type 2 diabetes (4). Further, the prevalence of diabetes is projected to increase by almost 40% by 2010 (5). An unfortunate sidebar to these statistics is the increasing prevalence of type 2 diabetes or its precursor, impaired glucose tolerance, among American children (6). In clinic-based studies, the proportion of diagnosed pediatric type 2 diabetes (i.e., type 2 vs type 1) has risen from less than 5% prior to 1994 to 30–50% in recent years (6). Similar to adults, the disease is disproportionately high among youth with minority ethnic and racial backgrounds (6). In addition to the considerable burden on personal health, it is estimated that the annual direct and indirect economic costs of diabetes in the Unites States are approx $132 billion (7).