According to an article on msn.com, in the last 45 years, the number of adults with diabetes has quadrupled.
“Globally, an estimated 422 million adults were living with diabetes in 2014, compared to 108 million in 1980,” the UN health agency said in its first-ever report on the disease, warning that the condition had spread because of worldwide changes “in the way people eat, move and live.”
The disease directly caused 1.5 million deaths in 2012 — the latest available global figures — but elevated blood glucose levels linked to diabetes were responsible for an additional 2.2 million deaths that year, the report said.
There are two types of diabetes. With type 1, the pancreas doesn’t make enough insulin to allow glucose to enter and nourish cells. With type 2, the body makes enough insulin, but the cells can’t use it. Most cases of type 2 diabetes are caused by obesity, poor diet, lack of exercise. That’s why our sedentary lifestyles are causing such a dramatic rise in the number of people who live with the disease.
Noting both the health and macroeconomic damage caused by the growing diabetes epidemic, WHO chief Margaret Chan called for a coordinated, holistic response.
Like with obesity, WHO has stressed that putting excessive blame on individuals for eating too much or not exercising enough ignored several key factors, including the obstacles to eating healthily in several societies.
“Effectively addressing diabetes does not just happen: it is the result of collective consensus and public investment in interventions that are affordable, cost-effective and based on the best available science,” Chan said in a statement.
HensonFuerst Attorneys is keenly aware of the difficulty faced by everyone with diabetes. We are an avid supporter of the American Diabetes Association, and one of our partners–Thomas Henson Jr.–has lived with type 1 diabetes since childhood. That’s why he (and the whole HensonFuerst Cycling Team) rides in the ADA Tour de Cure to raise money to fund research and education about diabetes.
This year’s Triangle Tour de Cure, a 2-day fundraising bicycle ride, happens May 14-15, 2016. To learn more about the ride: http://main.diabetes.org/site/TR/TourdeCure/TourAdmin?pg=entry&fr_id=11056
To read more about the diabetes epidemic: http://www.msn.com/en-us/news/world/diabetes-cases-have-quadrupled-since-1980-who/ar-BBrqWZK?li=BBnbcA1
