NBC NATIONAL NEWS — Lifestyle changes and improved medications have helped bring down death rates from Type-II Diabetes.

A new joint report from the CDC and NIH finds death rates for people with diabetes dropped substantially from 1997 to 2006.

This was particularly true for deaths related to heart disease and stroke related to Type-II Diabetes.

Researchers say people are doing a better job managing their blood sugar, cholesterol and blood pressure than in the past; also, diabetics are smoking less and exercising more.

However, obesity levels among people with diabetes continue to climb.

An estimated 25 million Americans have diabetes.