Diabetes: A Growing Global Health Concern

According to the website of the American Diabetes Association, "Diabetes is a problem with your body that causes blood glucose (sugar) levels to rise higher than normal. This is also called hyperglycemia. Type 2 diabetes is the most common form of diabetes." - [Source]

This condition now affects a large proportion of the world's population. According to the World Health Organization, "In 2014 the global prevalence of diabetes * was estimated to be 9% among adults aged 18+ years." - [Source]

"Globally it is estimated that 382 million people suffer from diabetes for a prevalence of 8.3%. North America and the Caribbean is the region with the higher prevalence, 36,755 people with diabetes (11%) followed by the Middle East and North Africa with 34,571 people with diabetes (9.2%). Western Pacific regions, with 138,195 people with diabetes, is the region with higher number of people with diabetes, however its prevalence is 8.6%, close to the prevalence of the World." - [Source] But diabetes is not just increasingly widespread, but looms as a leading threat to life. "WHO projects that diabetes will be the 7th leading cause of death in 2030." - [Source] Needless to say, it is something that should have the attention, not just of governments, but of people everywhere.

In the Philippines, diabetes is a both a leading health concern and cause of death. "Diabetes mellitus was one of the top causes of disease-related death in the country in 2009 according to the Department Health. One out of five Filipino adults is affected by either pre-diabetes or diabetes. These were words of caution to the members of the audience at the 'Ask the Diabetes Expert' forum organized by a global healthcare company." - [Source]

Scientific and medical sources point to high consumption of sugar-rich foods as a leading cause for the unprecedented rise of diabetes incidence. In a study of data from 175 countries, a team led by a doctor from California's Stanford University noted that "The increasing availability of sugary food and drink — independent of excess calories, excess weight, or a sedentary lifestyle — explains part of the rise in cases of type 2 diabetes worldwide" - [Source]

The Philippines was specifically cited in the article: "They give examples of several countries with high diabetes prevalence rates but low obesity rates, including the Philippines, Romania, France, Bangladesh, and Georgia." The dominant role of sugar was underscored: "They found that during this decade, the prevalence of worldwide diabetes rose by about 27%, with one quarter of this increase explained by an increase in the availability of sugary foods. No other food category had any significant effect on diabetes prevalence."

Options for Diabetics

The human inclination to sweetness, and the prohibition among diabetics against sugar-rich foods, can, it seems only translate into a grave impairment in the quality of life for those who have this condition. This need not be so. According to the article "Diabetes and the Filipino Diet," "Diet is an integral part of managing your diabetes, but you may feel you're limited in what you can eat. While there are some less than healthy options in the Filipino diet, such as the ice cream-like dessert halo-halo, as long as you know the basics for healthy eating, you can enjoy a variety of Filipino foods and still manage blood sugar." - [Source]

Fortunately, the increased availability of sugar-free, though sweet foods, which will be the main subject of this blog, points to an improvement in the quality of life of diabetics, as more and more food categories, which were formerly forbidden to them, now have sugar-free versions.

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* Defined as fasting blood glucose >= 7 mmol/l or on medication for raised blood glucose or with a history of diagnosis of diabetes. - [Source]