Diabetes In Asia-a Growing Threat
- Date: 2007-05-18 - Word Count: 394
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From Bombay to Beijing, a newly affluent Asian middle class is increasingly adapting Western lifestyles. Many city dwellers opt for high calorie fast food instead of healthier traditional meals and are becoming less and less physically active. This comes with a price: diabetes, mainly caused by excess weight and lack of exercise, has reached epidemic levels in Asia.
Diabetes is growing at a faster pace in Asia than anywhere else in the world and is increasingly affecting younger people. In India alone, more than 35 million people are estimated to have diabetes, more than in any other country in the world.
In percentage terms, the worst affected nation is the tiny Pacific island state of Nauru, where more than 40 percent of the population has the disease.
Most patients have type 2 diabetes, which is mainly caused by obesity and lack of exercise. Type 1 diabetes, often called juvenile diabetes, usually strikes children and young adults, and occurs when the body's immune system destroys insulin-producing cells. Both types can lead to complications such as heart disease, kidney damage and blindness.
Increasingly, people under 40 are affected, especially in Asia seeing quite commonly type 2 diabetes in adults in their 20s and 30s and there are now reports of type 2 diabetes in adolescence and even children.
The main culprit is lifestyle. Affluent Asians are rapidly adopting westernized ways of life, such as high-fat fast food diets and sedentary lifestyles. In Hong Kong, 10% of the entire population has diabetes due to these factors.
The Western Pacific region currently has 67 million people with diabetes projected to increase by 2025 to 99 million, that's a 48 percent increase. The Indian sub-continent, including Bangladesh, Pakistan and Sri Lanka as well, has 47 million with diabetes growing to 80 million by the year 2025.
Diabetes is sometimes called a silent killer because many people do not know they have the disease. Often, there are no symptoms for years.
Diabetes experts say it is crucial to raise the awareness of governments in the region about the enormous scale of the problem. Awareness in general is very low with information about the disease hard to come by.
Jack Krohn has had Diabetes, Pre-diabetes and Syndrome X for nearly fifteen years. He speaks from the experiences he has had during that time. His new website is devoted to educating patients of DIABETES
Diabetes is growing at a faster pace in Asia than anywhere else in the world and is increasingly affecting younger people. In India alone, more than 35 million people are estimated to have diabetes, more than in any other country in the world.
In percentage terms, the worst affected nation is the tiny Pacific island state of Nauru, where more than 40 percent of the population has the disease.
Most patients have type 2 diabetes, which is mainly caused by obesity and lack of exercise. Type 1 diabetes, often called juvenile diabetes, usually strikes children and young adults, and occurs when the body's immune system destroys insulin-producing cells. Both types can lead to complications such as heart disease, kidney damage and blindness.
Increasingly, people under 40 are affected, especially in Asia seeing quite commonly type 2 diabetes in adults in their 20s and 30s and there are now reports of type 2 diabetes in adolescence and even children.
The main culprit is lifestyle. Affluent Asians are rapidly adopting westernized ways of life, such as high-fat fast food diets and sedentary lifestyles. In Hong Kong, 10% of the entire population has diabetes due to these factors.
The Western Pacific region currently has 67 million people with diabetes projected to increase by 2025 to 99 million, that's a 48 percent increase. The Indian sub-continent, including Bangladesh, Pakistan and Sri Lanka as well, has 47 million with diabetes growing to 80 million by the year 2025.
Diabetes is sometimes called a silent killer because many people do not know they have the disease. Often, there are no symptoms for years.
Diabetes experts say it is crucial to raise the awareness of governments in the region about the enormous scale of the problem. Awareness in general is very low with information about the disease hard to come by.
Jack Krohn has had Diabetes, Pre-diabetes and Syndrome X for nearly fifteen years. He speaks from the experiences he has had during that time. His new website is devoted to educating patients of DIABETES
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