Diabetes Skyrockets to 366 Million

This staggering total revealed at the European Association for the Study of Diabetes (EASD) congress in Lisbon. According to top physicians in the field this emphasizes the need for immediate action by governments at the United Nations meeting next week.

"Staggering" is the word used to describe the number of diabetes cases with one person dying every seven seconds according to The International Diabetes Foundation. Health Officials on Tuesday stated this global epidemic keeps on getting worse.

Professor Jean Claude Nbanya, President of the International Diabetes Federation (IDF) had stated the clock was ticking for the world's leaders, remarking they are expecting action from next weeks meeting that will stop diabetes "relentlessly upwards trajectory".

The federation is calling for solid measures to put an end to this epidemic. They are pushing officials concentrating on chronic diseases to commit to definite targets to prevent cases and invest in more research at next weeks meeting.

This eminent United Nations meeting on September 19th to 20th in New York, is the second one to focus on disease, following the one on AIDS in 2001.

It has been estimated that health systems spend $465 billion each year to fight this disease. This is for both Type 1 and Type 2 diabetes.

Type 1 usually affects children and young adults whose bodies can not produce insulin. Type 2 is more common and usually associated to obesity. Type 2 develops when the body does not make enough insulin to break down glucose resulting in high blood sugar levels.

Diabetes is manageable through diet, exercise and medication. However, chronically high sugar levels can cause nerve damage which could result in amputation, blindness and kidney disease.

A lot of the rise in cases was due to aging populations due to the fact diabetes usually hits in middle age and population growth. However, the rise in obesity has added fuel to the fire for the skyrocketing cases of diabetes. This is agreed to by experts.

US News ranked the best diets for diabetes the top four are; Dash diet, Mayo Clinic diet, Ornish diet, Vegan diet and the well noted Mediterranean diet. To view these diets and more click on the link at US News Best Diabetic Diets.

Strength training and aerobics such as walking, cycling and jogging still ranks when it comes to exercise and diabetes.

sources:

Reuters

MSNBC Today