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| Silent Killer Draws World Health Experts to Brazil |
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Health panelists in Brazil |
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Diabetes, often referred to as 'the silent killer,' is the main topic that drew health experts from many nations to Salvador de Bahia, Brazil for the Diabetes Summit for Latin America June 30 through July 2.
Co-sponsored by the World Diabetes Foundation, the Pan American Health Organization and the Brazilian Ministry of Health, the event is considered significant because of the sharp increase in the number of diabetes cases and deaths being reported around the globe.
Blaming a lack of knowledge and sedentary lifestyles for the diabetes crisis, health experts said diabetes is responsible for over 9 per cent of all adult deaths in South and Central America. That figure is expected to increase by 65 per cent over the next two decades, according to the International Diabetes Federation Atlas 4th Edition.
A worldwide medical study released in 2000 reported hat 171 million people suffered from diabetes, a medical condition related to how your body uses blood glucose, also known as blood sugar. In the United States alone, about seven per cent of the population suffers from diabetes.
A health expert said, 'Diabetes is rapidly becoming an epidemic because of an increasing population with obesity and a sedentary lifestyle.' Experts are especially concerned because the disease, thought of in the past as being an adult ailment, seems to be affecting an increasing number of young people.
The Diabetes Summit in Brazil is supported by many organizations including the International Diabetes Foundation, World Bank, Caribbean Food and Nutrition Instiute, the Cuban Instituto Nacional de Endocrinologia and Ministry of Health and numerous other organizations throughout the region.
Purpose of the summit is to encourage government leaders around the world to promote programs that would establish priorities in the prevention and care of diabetes.
A World Diabetes Foundation spokesman said diabetes and other non-communicable diseases represent a 'significant public health challenge of the 21st century and a leading threat to human development.'
In the Caribbean, between 10 and 12 per cent of the adult population suffers from diabetes. Brazil and Mexico rank among the world's top 10 countries with the largest population of people with diabetes.
While the disease seems to be more active in affecting the poor and the most vulnerable people in developing nations, it is also spreading among the middle classes because of obesity and lack of exercise.
Chronic diabetes conditions include type 1 diabetes and type 2 diabetes. Regardless of which type you have, it means you have too much glucose in your blood and this can lead to serious health problems, including kidney failure, liver disease and heart failure.
Symptoms of diabetes include increased thirst, frequent trips to the bathroom to urinate, extreme hunger, fatigue, unexplained weight loss, blurred vision, slow-healing sores and frequent infections in the gums, skin, bladder or vagina. If you suspect you have diabetes, contact your doctor because the earlier the condition is diagnosed, the quicker treatment can begin and the sooner you can overcome the disease.
Glucose is a main energy source for the cells that make up muscles and other tissues. It comes from two major sources -- the food you eat and the liver. During digestion, sugar is absorbed into the bloodstream and it enters the cells with the help of insulin, which originates in the pancreas.
When a person eats, the pancreas secretes insulin into the bloodstream and as insulin circulates, it unlocks microscopic doors that allow sugar to enter the cells. Insulin lowers the amount of sugar in your bloodstream. As your blood sugar level drops, so does the secretion of insulin from your pancreas.
A well-functioning liver acts as a glucose storage and manufacturing center. When a person hasn't eaten in a while, the liver releases stored glucose to keep the glucose level within a normal range.
Type 2 Diabetes is the most common disease, affecting up to 95 per cent of the world's diabetic population. It results from insulin resistance, a condition whereby cells fail to use insulin properly, said a health expert.
Type 2 Diabetes is showing up in he young in 'record numbers,' said Dr. James Hill, director of the cener for human nutrition at the University of Colorado's Health Sciences Center.
'People used to suffer Type 2 Diabetes in their 60s and heart disease in their 70s. But with teens now developing i, are they going to have heart disease at 25 and need a heart transplant in their 30s?
'We have never gone through this before, but based on what we know about what happens once you have Type 2 Diabetes, the answer is probably yes.'
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