.....It’s just that I strongly believe that most of you should spend way more time worrying about the conditions that will actually get you and which you can do something about, so in a single-minded, single-person(ed) effort (my wife said I should also have added single brain-celled, but I think she was just kidding), I want to redress this imbalance in perception, starting, of course, with my own favourite condition deserving of far more attention (well, what did you expect? I’m no different than any other doctor), namely Type 2 diabetes (DM).
.....Why Type 2 DM? Several reasons, the most important of which are that 1) the number of cases of Type 2 DM is skyrocketing around the world, and 2) Type 2 DM is beginning to hit the young especially hard, and this near-“catastrophic” “crisis” situation holds the potential for “disaster” (hey, I’m also media person, dudes).
.....So while Type 2 DM used to be called adult onset diabetes because it was rarely seen in people under the age of 40 (and yes, ladies, 40-year-old men are considered adults; they may not be mature, but they’re still adults), and while it was once only seen in people living in developed nations, Type 2 DM is now mushrooming in younger populations, even in kids as young as 8, and it’s being diagnosed in incredibly quickly rising numbers in people living in developing nations (Type 2 DM is also close to epidemic in aboriginal populations).
.....In fact, according to the CDC in Atlanta (based on 2001 statistics, which have only become worse since then), 7-8% of the US population already have altered blood glucose levels (that is, frank diabetes) while a further 26 % or so are in a pre-diabetes situation (they have “metabolic syndrome”, only a step away from actual diabetes). And hey, folks, while we’re not as bad as the US – yet – we’re not too far off their marks, either.
.....As for how bad it’s getting among kids, here’s a quote (cited in Reuters) from a pediatric doctor addressing a news conference at the World Diabetes Congress held recently in Cape Town. “Diabetes has become a chronic and common disease among children . . . and often these children die.” That’s pretty “gloomy”, I think you’d agree.
.....Yet, and here’s the really frustrating bit, for roughly 80 % of people who develop Type 2 DM, and probably nearly 100 % of kids, Type 2 DM is virtually completely |
|
|
WHERE PEOPLE COME
FIRST