The 13th World Diabetes Day was marked with the campaign slogan
"Fight Obesity, Prevent Diabetes" on Sunday.
Overweight and obesity are the main modifiable risk factors
leading to type 2 diabetes, often called adult,
non-insulin-dependent diabetes.
Ji Linong, an endocrinologist from the People's Hospital at Peking University, has noticed a
clear change in the typical diabetes patient seen there.
"Ten years ago, patients were thin and old. Now, however, they
are commonly obese and much younger," said Ji at a recent seminar
on the prevention of diabetes, which attracted endocrinologists and
cardiologists to Beijing.
In the past few years, the intensity of diabetes awareness
education has increased and new drugs and therapies have emerged.
However, the incidence of diabetes has not slowed.
Simple lifestyle changes such as a healthy diet and moderate
physical activity can delay and, in many cases, prevent the onset
of type 2 diabetes. For people with diabetes, diet and activity can
reduce complications, experts say.
It is estimated that avoiding weight gain could prevent at least
half of all cases of type 2 diabetes. However, many people only
understand the importance of a healthy lifestyle after their lives
have been threatened.
One diabetic man in his late 40s was diagnosed 10 years ago. He
was hospitalized at the Anzhen Hospital in Beijing after a heart
attack this spring. It wasn't until after the heart attack that he
truly understood the potentially devastating effect of
diabetes.
In his words, he could not control his "greedy appetite" for
high fat foods.
According to a survey conducted by the Magazine of Diabetes
Patients' Friends, among the 2,596 respondents, more than half
have a college education or higher.
Alarmingly, a lot of them are teachers.
"Teachers generally work under high pressure and lack of
physical exercise. Also, they tend to be careless about a healthy
lifestyle and their diet," said Dr. Ji. "They are more likely to
develop obesity, which can lead to high blood pressure, high blood
cholesterol, and high blood sugar."
(China Daily November 15, 2004)