NEW YORK: World Health Organization (WHO) has issued a call for action on diabetes drawing attention to the need to step up prevention and treatment of the disease on the occasion of World Health Day 2016.
The first WHO Global report on diabetes demonstrates that the number of adults living with diabetes has almost quadrupled since 1980 to 422 million adults. This dramatic rise is largely due to the rise in type 2 diabetes and factors driving it include overweight and obesity. In 2012 alone diabetes caused 1.5 million deaths.
Its complications can lead to heart attack, stroke, blindness, kidney failure and lower limb amputation. The new report calls upon governments to ensure that people are able to make healthy choices and that health systems are able to diagnose treat and care for people with diabetes. It encourages us all as individuals to eat healthily be physically active and avoid excessive weight gain.
The theme of World Diabetes Day 2016 is Eyes on Diabetes. The year s activities and materials will focus on promoting the importance of screening to ensure early diagnosis of type 2 diabetes and treatment to reduce the risk of serious complications. According to International Diabetes Federation (IDF) Diabetes is a huge and growing burden as 415 million adults were living with diabetes in 2015 and this number is expected to increase to around 642 million or one in ten adults by 2040.
One in two adults with diabetes is undiagnosed. Many people live with type 2 diabetes for a long period of time without being aware of their condition. By the time of diagnosis diabetes complications may already be present. Up to 70% of type 2 diabetes cases can be prevented or delayed by adopting healthier lifestyles equivalent to up to 160 million cases by 2040.
With increasing levels of poor nutrition and physical inactivity among children in many countries type 2 diabetes in childhood has the potential to become a global public health issue leading to serious health outcomes.
About 12% of total global expenditure on health is currently spent on adults with diabetes.
The number of people with diabetes in low and middle income countries will continue to grow posing a threat to sustainable development.
For example by 2040 the number of people with diabetes in Africa is expected to double.
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