Prevalence of Diabetes
Diabetes is on the rise, and the numbers are only expected to keep growing. Around 250 million people around the world suffer from diabetes, including three million Canadians. The International Diabetes Federation calls the disease the “epidemic of the 21st century.” They predict that by 2025, if nothing is done to curb the epidemic, that the number of people living with diabetes will hit 380 million.
“Diabetes is becoming more prevalent for a number of reasons,” says Dr. Richard Bebb, an endocrinologist active in the Men's Health Initiative of BC. “First of all, there are two main types of diabetes. There's type 1 diabetes, where individuals run out of insulin; that tends to occur more in younger people. And then there's type 2, which is the more common type.”
An especially alarming statistic is the increasing number of children who are being diagnosed with type 2 diabetes. Type 2 diabetes used to be called adult-onset diabetes, as it was so rare among children. However, that's not the case anymore. Doctors are seeing more children with type 2 diabetes who have high blood pressure and high cholesterol, and around 95 percent of children diagnosed with the disease are overweight. In the next 15 years, it is estimated that the global incidence of type 2 diabetes in kids will increase by up to 50 percent (Diabetes.ca).
Are you at risk for developing diabetes? Discuss your health with medical providers near you.
