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Obesity/Diabetes Could
Soon Reduce Life Expectancy
Twin global epidemics of obesity and
diabetes are out of control and could reduce life expectancy in
the future, health experts said.
Obesity, a major risk factor for
diabetes, already affects 300 million people worldwide while an
estimated 194 million suffer from diabetes.
By 2025 the number of obese people
is expected soar to 333 million.
"I suspect that within a short
period of time we will begin to see a reduction in life expectancy
because of the twin epidemics," said Professor Claude Bouchard,
president of the International Society for the Study of Obesity
(IASO).
He was speaking at the 13th European
Congress on Obesity here, being attended by some 2,500 doctors
and health experts. Professor Rhys Williams, a vice president
of the International Diabetes Federation (IDF), noted that a fall
in deaths from cardiovascular disease in the United States is
now showing signs of stopping.
He suspects it is due, at least
partly, to the obesity epidemic, which is also contributing to
rising levels of diabetes and is a risk factor for heart disease
and stroke.
"The rise in Type 2 diabetes is,
in great part, due to weight gain," said Professor Pierre Lefebvre,
president of the IDF.
As many as 80 percent of cases
of Type 2 diabetes are linked to overweight or obesity, particularly
abdominal obesity. The disease was once thought to be limited
to adults but obese children are now developing the illness.
In the United States, the prevalence
of excess weight and obesity in adolescents has nearly tripled
in the past two decades.
In 30 years time, the number of
people in the U.S. with diabetes is expected to increase by 57
percent, according to Lefebvre. In some countries in the Middle
East and Asia the number will double.
"We are facing a huge, huge, epidemic,"
Lefebvre added.
A new report on diabetes by the
IDF and the IASO, released at the conference, estimated that at
least half of all diabetes cases would be eliminated if weight
gain could be prevented.
Even a small weight loss, of about
five percent, can decrease or slow down the risk of developing
Type 2 diabetes and other complications of the illness, such as
a raised risk of cardiovascular and kidney disease and some forms
of cancer.
"A slight decline can have a beneficial
effect on diabetes risk," said Lefebvre,
The report described the twin epidemics
as a global health crisis and stressed the importance of eating
a low-fat healthy diet and getting plenty of exercise.
"If left unchecked, the outlook
for world health is bleak," the report concluded.
Reference
Source 89
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