Obesity
Pre-Diabetes, Type 2 Diabetes and Gestational Diabetes are among various forms of a disease which is already one of the major health crises of the 21st Century. The number of cases of Diabetes in its different variations is almost triple what it was 50 years ago, with 150 million people now affected throughout the world.India has over 30 million and by the year 2025 we will be having over 70 million Diabetics.
Currently, five million deaths are caused by Diabetes each year worldwide. The figure set to rise dramatically as obesity – a root cause of Diabetes – reaches epidemic proportions. The number of Diabetes cases is likely to double to 300 million by 2025. Research suggests that 80% of Diabetes sufferers will eventually die of a heart attack or stroke called as Cardiovascular Complications of Diabetes.
Shocking increase in Diabetes cases and other chronic diseases stemming from the spread of obesity could reverse a long upward trend and lead to a fall in overall life expectancy. Diabetes is basically a disorder in which the body either fails to produce enough insulin or does not use insulin properly to convert sugar, or glucose, in the blood stream into energy. Pre-Diabetes is a condition that occurs when a person's blood glucose levels are higher than normal but are not in the range of Type 2 Diabetes. Gestational Diabetes is a glucose and insulin disorder than often strikes pregnant women.
Genetics can play a part in the development of various forms of Diabetes and people with a family history of the condition are at greater risk of developing the disorder. So, too, are individuals who suffer from Insulin Resistance,caused by an imbalance of sugar and insulin in the blood stream, which may lead to weight gain and obesity and result in the onset of Pre-Diabetes. Both Insulin Resistance and Pre-Diabetes are reversible but, if left unchecked, can lead to Type 2 Diabetes – a serious condition that can only be managed, not reversed, and may finally require daily insulin.
Type 2 Diabetes used to mainly affect older people. But as obesity levels grow, the disease has begun to claim ever younger victims, including obese children. Type 2 Diabetes can be prevented from taking hold, however, by reversing the symptoms of obesity-related Insulin Resistance and Pre-Diabetes through weight loss via a balanced, nutritious diet and regular exercise.
Insulin Resistance causes an imbalance in glucose and insulin levels in the blood stream, which can stem from an unhealthy lifestyle comprising little or no exercise and a poor diet without proper nutrition. Insulin receptor sites act as a "key in a lock," allowing food that has been refined to glucose in the blood stream to pass through the cell wall and be converted to energy. The number of these receptor sites is vastly reduced by Insulin Resistance, with the result that glucose "bounces off" the cell wall and then freely floats in the blood stream.
Excess of the glucose is converted into fat and stored via the blood stream throughout the body. This process often leads to obesity, a key factor in the onset of Pre-Diabetes, as well as a leading cause of female infertility called Polycystic Ovarian Syndrome (PCOS) and the cluster of cardiovascular risk factors known as Metabolic Syndrome (Syndrome X). All Insulin Resistance-related conditions are increased risk factors for heart attacks and stroke.