liviNg
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t’s no secret that it’s Word up
type 2 diabetes that is Life’s not so simple that everyone who is
the ‘headline grabber’ overweight develops diabetes, nor that
because number of everyone who has diabetes is overweight.
diagnoses of the condition When discussing how a condition comes
is going through the roof. Factors about, terminology can be complicated (a
affecting the rise of diabetes are no lot of it being scientific) and contentious
secret either. as a society we have a (‘fat’ is the new F-word!). but the more fat
more sedentary lifestyle, but for most you have (especially around your waist,
people that’s not because they’re at more so than on your bottom or hips) then
home with their feet up. today we the higher the chances are that how much
commute longer and farther than ever, insulin your body produces -- and how it
meaning we’re stuck in cars, trains or uses it -- will be adversely affected.
tubes if walking or cycling is simply not Diabetes uk’s measure up campaign
an option. raised awareness of how having a big
We’re also busier – with emails, waist could indicate the presence of type
mobiles and personal computers at work 2 diabetes. With approximately 2.5 million
and in the home. socially, there are fewer people in the uk being diagnosed with a
pubs (ok, so the downside was booze, form of diabetes – that’s 4% of the whole
bu the upside was a walk), while there are population walking around with diabetes
more tV channels and radio stations than – the vast majority (probably 85%) have
ever before. there are television screens type 2. so what causes it and why have
on buses, trains and at railway stations. diagnoses of this disease gone through
We are bombarded with marketing, much the roof?
of it to do with food and drink, encouraging innovations in diabetes -- new
us to have more, eat more, buy more. treatments as well as new ways of testing
arguably, it’s consumerism gone mad, but glucose levels -- all come from research.
there’s little sign of it stopping. much research is on a cellular and even
Whatever’s causing the ballooning a genetic level. Previous studies have
weight problem in our society the causes identified several genetic variations in
and the results are likely to be with us for a people with type 2 diabetes that affect
long time. so what can be done right now? how insulin is produced in the pancreas.
it’s interesting that medical companies are Scientists at Imperial College
finding new ways to help address the rise London identified a genetic variation in
in type 2 diabetes, including one root of people with type 2 diabetes. this variation
the problem, that being obesity, the rise
of which is directly linked to the rise of t2
diabetes. continued over