Asia on brink of diabetes disaster, experts warn

PARIS, Nov 10, 2006 (AFP) – Health services across Asia could crash in the face of a worsening epidemic of obesity-led diabetes, experts warn. The more common Type 2 diabetes results mainly from an unhealthy diet and inactivity.

In 2003, 194 million people in Asia had diabetes and by 2025, the tally could be 333 million, according to a paper published by the British journal The Lancet ahead of World Diabetes Day next Tuesday.

“Childhood obesity has increased substantially and the prevalence of Type 2 diabetes has now reached epidemic levels in Asia. The health consequences of this epidemic threaten to overwhelm health-care systems in the region,” the study says sternly.

High
blood-glucose levels kill three million people a year: study
PARIS, Nov 10, 2006 (AFP) – High levels of glucose in the blood, a curse
of developed economies that is largely blamed on fatty or sugar-rich
foods and lack of exercise, kills