Diabetes : A Growing Epidemic Essay

Diabetes has recently become a focal point of health care systems around the world due to its high prevalence and the severity of secondary complications caused by the disease. Over the course of my project on diabetes, I have had the opportunity to speak with a group of diabetics to understand from a patient’s perspective how diabetes is managed in a rural community. While I found that while some patients ignored treatment and refused to make any dietary changes, the majority of the patients I interviewed were well-informed and actively managing diabetes in their everyday life.

Public health emphasizes the importance of prevention and proactively taking care of one’s body. As people grow older, they must follow certain guidelines to ensure that they age healthily and successfully. One of the biggest concerns facing the aging population is chronic diseases. Chronic diseases are long term diseases that have a slow progression. Once chronic diseases pass “certain symptomatic or diagnostic thresholds,” they become a permanent aspect of an individual’s life because “medical and personal regimens can sometimes control but can rarely cure them” (Albert and Freeman 105). One chronic condition that is a cause of concern is diabetes. Diabetes is not only one of the leading causes of death in the over 65 population but

This essay will focus on type 2 diabetes, which is becoming one of the fast growing chronic health conditions in the United Kingdom (UK). Approximately 700 people are diagnosed with type 2 diabetes each day in the UK (Diabetes Uk, (2014)a). It is costing the NHS about £10billion pounds each year to treat diabetes along with its complication and it is expected to rise in the next couple of years (Diabetes UK, (2014)b).

I could feel the acid in my throat; I desperately needed water and couldn’t keep any food down. I had felt like this for the last three months but no one believed me. I started to doubt it myself, my mom said I was fine so why wouldn’t I be?

The entire concept of diabetes is about living on the edge of trouble. While Type 1 Diabetes is a biological condition associated with a fundamental flaw in the way one's body produces or reacts to insulin a substance that controls and monitors sugar in the blood and cells Type 2 Diabetes is a social and cultural condition. Those most likely groups of people to have to live with it are persons of non-white nationalities (increasingly Hispanics and Asians) who live at or below the US poverty level and/or who have not achieved a very high level of educational advancement (California Department of Public Health, 2010). And in places like San Diego County, California, this puts a major number of people, young and old, quite literally on the border of health and wellness disasters.

There are some factors that are non-modifiable and create a predisposition to the onset of developing Type 2 Diabetes. These non-modifiable factors include family history, race/ethnicity and age, and cannot be changed by lifestyle choices. Type 2 diabetes is traditionally a late onset disease however it is becoming more frequent to be diagnosed as a young person. Alpurrulam’s student network is made up of 89% Indigenous students alone. “Indigenous people were three times more likely to be living with Type 2 Diabetes than non-Indigenous people” (Australia Bureau of Statistics, 2004-05). It is vital for our students to be educated on Type 2 Diabetes because of the high vulnerability of our school population of developing this lifestyle disease.

Diabetes is one of the biggest challenges facing Australians. One person is diagnosed every five minutes equating to 280 Australians diagnosed every day. In total 1.7 million Australian’s suffer from all types of diabetes. Diabetes is one of the most fastest growing condition is Australia. It’s increasing at a faster rate than heart diseases and cancer. 10% of people with diabetes are type 1, the other 85% of diabetes are type 2 and the rest have gestational diabetes in pregnancy. Diabetes is caused when the body can’t maintain glucose in the blood. People that suffer from diabetes must watch their sugar intake to ensure a healthy lifestyle.

There are 350 million sufferers of type-2 diabetes worldwide; New Zealand has the third highest rate of obesity and contributes to this concern.

It is without doubt that diabetes has become one of the most prevalent epidemics of the 21st Century. As Australia possesses the third highest rates of obesity in the world, it is unsurprising that 1.7 million Australians suffer from Type II Diabetes today. Due to its significant global prevalence, various management and treatment procedures have been developed to minimise the risk of future health problems, as prevention of T2DM in overweight/ obese youth is imperative. Despite the continual efforts of scientists to construct successful treatments, evidence has shown that their effectiveness varies between children and adults. It is believed that treating this disease is more difficult in children and adolescents than in adults. Four main

“There is considerable evidence for a rising epidemic of diabetes in many countries of the world, with projected numbers of affected persons, and national prevalence likely to rise” (Sicree & Shaw, 2007). The United States (U.S.) alone being number three of the top ten countries worldwide, projected to see the highest rate of those affected by type II diabetes amongst its population in 2030 (Shaw, Sicree, & Zimmet, 2010). A growing epidemic, attributions to urbanization, nutrition transition, as well as sedentary lifestyles have been made as fueling the sequential rise in type II diabetes (Hu, 2011). With current societal behaviors detrimental to the overall health of the U.S., it is essential to raise awareness of current risk factors to employ behavioral changes to decrease prevalence of type II diabetes.

The aim of this research was to investigate the causes, effects and treatments of Diabetes Type 2 among the 18-65 age group in the UK people. The evidence was drawn from various literature reviews and research papers and from field research through a questionnaire. This research is necessary because of the adverse or negative impact of diabetes on people’s lives, on the patients and on those on are caring for the patient’s day to day needs. Diabetes is one of the most common illnesses across the UK and the interventions and treatment of diabetes patients costs the NHS and government approximately £1.5 million an hour which equates to about £14 billion per year

Diabetes is the fastest and largest growing health issue in New Zealand. Diabetes is a disease that has reached epidemic proportions internationally and within the New Zealand community. It is the leading cause of blindness, kidney failure and lower limb amputations. There are two main types of diabetes: type 1 (insulin-dependent diabetes mellitus) and type 2 (adult-onset diabetes mellitus). An international study carried out by a team of researchers working with the World Health Organisation had found that New Zealand has one of the highest rates of diabetes. There is over 240,000 people in New Zealand who have been diagnosed with diabetes, most having type 2, and the amount on both types is rising. If someone who has diabetes cannot keep their glucose levels in an appropriate range, they can develop a number of long term health problems including damaged vessels leading to kidney failure, blindness, and damage of the nervous system. Type 2 diabetes is an issue in my community as it can be life threatening. It is a crucial issue for New Zealand, because it has such negative impact on New Zealand’s society, including creating issues with money in New Zealand. In 2008 there was a study about the health-care costs for New Zealanders with Type 2 Diabetes. It was around $540 million and it is predicted that these costs will increase to $1.78 billion by 2021. These

Diabetes has been out for thousands of years and still no cure. researchers and scientist have been searching and searching for ways to overcome this disease but nothing yet. Everyone goals are to either improve, prevent, or cure this disease. Diabetes became very known around the seventeenth century because of a high percentage of people was found with sugar in their urine and blood. Diabetes is one of the fastest growing diseases that affects our society worldwide. The average person in this world does not know anything about this disease. The diabetes association said “In 2013 the estimate of 328 million people had diabetes throughout the world”. Society today need to be aware of what we are up against with this disease.

In the United States researchers have proven that the intense rise in obesity and sedentary lifestyles have resulted in higher rates of individuals who are diagnosed with diabetes. Furthermore, in just the last decade, the number of citizens living with this illness has jumped to more than 29 million Americans (“What is Diabetes”)! However, if we’re looking into the grand scheme of things here, this illness is accounted for by more than 380 million people (which is expected to double by 2030, according to the World Health Organization) (“What is Diabetes”). “Today, diabetes takes more lives than AIDS and breast cancer combined -- claiming the life of 1 American every 3 minutes” (“What is Diabetes”). Diabetes is actually the leading cause of blindness, kidney failure, amputations, heart failures and even stroke (“What is Diabetes”). Two major concerns are that much of this increase in Diabetes will occur in developing countries and that there is an expanding of incidence of Type 2 Diabetes at a younger age (including some obese children even before puberty). People who are in the age category above the age of retirement, are considered to have the highest instances of Diabetes in developed countries. In developed countries most people with diabetes are above the age

In New Zealand, regardless of ethnicity or socio-economic status, T1DM is the most common form of diabetes in children and adolescents (Jefferies, Owens, & Wiltshire, 2015) Additionally, New Zealand reflects the rate of increase of incidence of T1DM worldwide which is three to 3-5% annually (Jefferies et al., 2015). This is an important health issue because it affects the expected lifespan of the person afflicted (WHO, 2016) mainly due to cardiovascular disease and other complication of diabetes (J. W. Little et