Around the World: Diabetes Outside the U.S

The prevalence of diabetes outside of the United States is increasing rapidly. In fact, over the past 20 years the number of those with diabetes living outside of America has increased from about 30 million to 230 million, reports The New York Times. This increase is wearing on international health systems as well as the citizens of the world.

China has about 39 million residents (over the age of 20) with diabetes, reveals The Times. This makes up almost 3 percent of their population. India has the second largest amount of diabetics with about 30 million. But, India's number makes up about 6 percent of their total adult population. While smaller countries may not have as many diabetics, their percentages of adult population with diabetes can range from 12 to 20 percent.

The poorest nations of the world struggle with diabetes due to lack of information, treatment, medication, and supplies. In fact, the risk of death related to diabetes in poor nations is extremely high. In Mozambique, someone who needs insulin is expected to live only one year while someone in Mali may survive 30 months, states The New York Times.

Many people wonder why diabetes is growing throughout the world. While experts aren't clear on the reasons, they suspect it is due to changes in diet and lifestyle. When countries industrialize, they have more people who are being less active. Thus, they start eating food which is inexpensive, yet unhealthy. The two combine, lead to weight gain and ultimately lead to more type 2 diabetes diagnoses. In fact, Type-2 is most common with Type-1 only making up about 5 to 10 percent of all cases.

Many diabetic charities are trying to stop the spread of diabetes by doing a few things. First, the United Nations are working to recognize the seriousness of the issue. Charities are trying to educate other countries on diabetes, prevention and condition management. They are offering free supplies and medications to poor nations. Overall, with education and proper supplies, anyone should be able to better prevent diabetes, no matter where they live. It's an important mission for the people of the world.

For those interested in doing more to educate the world on diabetes, there are many groups who would love to take on volunteers. Volunteering can be as mild as making phone calls or sending out letters or can be more intense and include visiting other countries to speak about diabetes.