The Diabetes Problem:
Diabetes is a huge problem world wide, but is particularly so in Western countries, due mainly to lifestyle issues. The information on this page is meant only to be a very generalised overview of diabetes, the different types and the health issues surrounding the problem. Let us first look at the different types of diabetes, which is actually a chronic disease, caused by the fact that the body doesn’t produce the right amount of insulin, to control the level of blood sugar (glucose) levels. Normally the body converts this glucose to energy and that’s the big problem for diabetics.
There are three types of diabetes and the first is known as Type 1 Diabetes. This condition is where the pancreas does not produce enough insulin to control the glucose levels. This type of diabetes is more prevalent in younger people, that is to say, it can occur from childhood to early adulthood. Type 2 Diabetes on the other hand, generally occurs from middle age onwards. This is generally where the body does not effectively use insulin to control the glucose, however it may also be due to insufficient insulin. The third type of diabetes is called Gestational Diabetes and is noticeable in some pregnancies, where it can be a considerable danger.There are many excellent articles on this subject and by following this link, you can learn more about diabetes.
Diabetes in all forms can be a very dangerous condition leading even to death, or at best, a reduced life expectancy. If not treated, it can cause heart disease, kidney failure, strokes and even blindness. In any event sufferers can have poor vision, bad circulation and a number of other problems, which results in them having a lesser quality of life and not being able to participate in many community activities. In addition, the cost to the health system by way of treatment, is around 1 billion dollars.
The staggering fact is that on average in Australia, 275 people are diagnosed with diabetes every day! That’s 100,000 per year and it is suggested by Diabetes Australia, that up to 60% of these cases can be prevented or slowed down by weight reduction and good blood glucose control. In Australia, there are about 1 million people who have been diagnosed with diabetes, but it is estimated by various bodies that another 800,000 or more are undiagnosed. Diabetes is the 6th leading cause of death in Australia and the incidence of diabetes has risen from 1.5% in 1989 to 4% of the population in 2008. When it comes to pre-diabetes, the estimates could be as high as 3.2 million. In North America, the figures are far worse at around 10% and in the Middle East it is around 9% and in South East Asia around 8%. The Australian Bureau of Statistics has a wealth of information on this subject, as does the Australian Institute of Health and Welfare.
Diabetes is expected to continue to be a chronic disease for many years to come and unfortunately, it will continue to increase. It seems that in a few short years, Australia will have a percentage of sufferers, similar to that in the USA. From the above, you can deduce that matters like obesity, diet and lifestyle are of paramount importance in reducing the incidence of diabetes. An issue that cannot be ignored here, is the extremely high number of people that are estimated to have pre-diabetes. If these people were aware, they would most likely take some action to reduce their risk. Perhaps the key factor here is the control or reduction of blood sugar (glucose) levels. Being able to self-test and monitor these levels is now easy thanks to the EasyMate Multi-function monitoring systems.