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World Diabetes Day 2013: Diabetes Education and Prevention

World Diabetes Day is the major global awareness campaign or diabetes mellitus in theworld! "ts launched on #ovember 1$ o each year and lasts an entire year! #ovember 1$ is

the birthday o %ir &rederic' (rant )antin who irst isolated and puriied insulin* thehormone involved in this illness* in 1+21 and 1+22! ,he irst such campaign was in 1++1by the "nternational Diabetes &ederation and the World -ealth .rgani/ation in response tothe alarming rise o diabetes around the world! &or 200+2013* the theme is DiabetesEducation and Prevention! nd prevention is always better than cure!

We need education about diabetes because its a serious illness! "ts been common* itsbecoming more common! %igniicantly* its getting more common amongst the young* ouruture! nd a lot o it is preventable with some simple and good advice!

"ts a serious illness! Diabetes mellitus* or simply diabetes* is a group o diseases in whicha person has high blood sugar* either because the pancreas does not produce insulin,ype 1* or because cells do not respond to the insulin that is produced ,ype 2! "nsulin isimportant to our bodies because it allows our cells to ta'e up the glucose rom ood to useas energy! ,his high blood sugar produces re4uent urination* increased thirst andincreased hunger! 5ong6term results o high blood sugar can include heart disease*stro'es* damage to eyesight* 'idney ailure which may re4uire dialysis* and poorcirculation in the limbs leading to amputations! ,ype 2 diabetes in particular is associated

with a ten6year6shorter lie e7pectancy! ,his is partly due to a number o problems withwhich it is associated* including: two to our times the ris' o heart and blood vesseldisease* including heart disease and stro'e8 a 206old increase in cutting o lower limbsamputations* and increased chances o entering hospitals! "n the developed world* andincreasingly elsewhere* type 2 diabetes is the largest cause o blindness that is not causedbe injury and 'idney ailure! "t has also been associated with an increased ris' o braindamage* through diseases such as l/heimer9s disease and vascular dementia!

Diabetes mellitus has been common or a while* with around 30 million cases globally in

1+;! "ts becoming more common* as o 2010* an estimated 2; million people haddiabetes* with type 2 diabetes ma'ing up about +0< o the cases! "ts going to get evenmore common* by 2030* this number is estimated to almost double! nd its getting morecommon in children! Previously* type 1 diabetes was 'nown as =juvenile onset= diabetes!whereas ,ype 2 diabetes was a disease more commonly associated with adults! "n act* itused to be called adult6onset diabetes! )ut now type 2 diabetes in children is on the rise*ueled largely by the obesity epidemic! %o all in all* there is a good chance that even i wedo not suer rom this illness* someone we 'now will* or already is!

lot o diabetes is preventable! -ere we are not tal'ing about ,ype 1 because there is anabsolute insulin deiciency due to destruction o islet cells in the pancreas! We are tal'ingabout ,ype 2 Diabetes where the body produces insulin but there is insulin resistance* a

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condition in which cells ail to use insulin properly! big clue on how to prevent diabetes isthat rates o type 2 diabetes have increased mar'edly over the last ;0 years in parallelwith obesity! Diabetes mellitus occurs throughout the world* but type 2 is more common inthe more developed countries! ,he increase in incidence in developing countries ollowsthe trend o urbani/ation and liestyle changes* perhaps most importantly a =Western6style=diet!

What can we do to prevent ourselves and those we 'now getting this illness> Well its'nown that obesity is thought to be the primary cause o type 2 diabetes in people who aregenetically predisposed to the disease! ,ype 2 diabetes is initially managed by increasinge7ercise and dietary modiication!

?egarding diet* the ta'e home message is reducing processed ood* white rice* white

sugar* sot drin's* sweets* crisps* ast ood* ried ood and ba'ery products! ,hroughprocessing ood* we are ta'ing out iber and we are ma'ing ats more saturated* which isincreasing diabetes! ,hough its diicult to do* li'e giving up smo'ing to reduce the ris' ocancer and heart disease* the evidence is there* just as there is to show smo'ing isharmul or many!

"n the @ournal o Progress in 5ipid ?esearch A$ 1: $$;1B* ?isCrus and Willet in their@anuary 200+ paper entitled* =Dietary ats and prevention o type 2 diabetes= showed thatsaturated ats and trans atty acids increase the ris' o type 2 diabetes andpolyunsaturated and monounsaturated at decrease the ris'! Please note that the largestamount o trans at consumed today is created by the processed ood industry as a sideeect o partially hydrogenating unsaturated plant ats generally vegetable oils! ,hesepartially hydrogenated ats have displaced natural solid ats and li4uid oils in many areas*the most notable ones being in the ast ood* snac' ood* ried ood* and ba'ed goodsindustries!

"n the @ournal o the merican edical ssociation A2+2 : +B* F povian in his 200$paper entitled =%ugar6%weetened %ot Drin's* .besity* and ,ype 2 Diabetes= showed that

consumption o sugar6sweetened drin's in e7cess is associated with an increased ris'! "nthe merican @ournal o Flinical #utrition A+ ;: $+B* 5ee % (ross* 5i 5i* Earl % &ordand %imin 5iu showed the same in their 200$ paper entitled* ="ncreased consumption oreined carbohydrates and the epidemic o type 2 diabetes in the Gnited %tates: anecologic assessment!= "n the journal Firculation A121 11: 13;HH$* I% alilB* ) Pop'in*( )ray* @P DesprCs and &) -u in their 23 arch 2010 paper entitled =%ugar %weetened)everages* .besity* ,ype 2 Diabetes and Fardiovascular Disease ris'= also showed thesame!

"n the )ritish edical @ournal )@ Flinical research ed! A3$$B E -u* Pan* I ali'and J %un* in their 1; arch 2012 paper entitled =White rice consumption and ris' o type2 diabetes: meta6analysis and systematic review*= showed that eating lots o white rice

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appears to also play a role in increasing ris' o type 2 diabetes!

"n the )ritish journal* ,he 5ancet A30 +3: 21+2+B* "6in 5ee* Eric @ %hiroma* &elipe5obelo* Pe''a Pus'a* # %teven and Peter , Kat/mar/y' in their 1 @uly 2012 paper entitled

=Eect o physical inactivity on major non6communicable diseases worldwide: an analysiso burden o disease and lie e7pectancy= showed that a lac' o e7ercise is believed tocause < o cases!

" we are to heed to this advice and evidence* we will be o appropriate weight* healthierand less li'ely to suer rom type 2 diabetes and other obesity related illness! %o let usplay our role in educating others and helping to prevent diabetes upon others this year!