Diabetes

A CHRONIC, DEBILITATING AND OFTEN DEADLY DISEASE
• Diabetes is a chronic condition that arises when the pancreas does not produce
enough insulin, or when the body cannot effectively use the insulin produced.
• Insulin is a hormone made by the pancreas that helps ‘sugar’ (glucose) to leave the
blood and enter the cells of the body to be used as ‘fuel’. When a person has
diabetes, either their pancreas does not produce the insulin they need (type 1
diabetes) or additionally the body cannot make effective use of the insulin they
produce (type 2 diabetes).
• Diabetes is the fourth leading cause of death in most developed countries.
• Each year, over three million deaths worldwide are attributable to diabetes-related
causes.
A GLOBAL EPIDEMIC
• Diabetes is reaching epidemic proportions. In 2003, the International Diabetes
Federation estimated that nearly 200 million people around the world had diabetes. By
2025 this figure is expected to rise to over 300 million, when over 6 % of the world’s
population will be living with diabetes.
• The prevalence of type 2 diabetes is rising at an alarming rate throughout the world,
due to increase in life expectancy and obesity, and adoption of sedentary lifestyles. Of
particular cause for concern is the dramatic rise of type 2 diabetes in children and
adolescents.
• Examples of the dramatic rise in diabetes prevalence can be found in India and China.
India is host to the largest diabetes population in the world with an estimated 35
million people, amounting to 8% of the adult population. In China, where 2.7% of the
adult population is affected by type 2 diabetes, the number of people with this
condition is likely to exceed 50 million within the next 25 years.

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