The epidemic of diabetes is growing rapidly in many countries, with particularly sharp growth in low- and middle-income countries. But diabetes can be treated, and the majority of cases can be prevented.

 It is estimated that 347 million of people in the world suffer from diabetes. By the official data in 2012, this disease was a cause of about 1.5 million of deaths. WHO predicts that by 2030, diabetes will become the seventh death leading cause.

Diabetes is a chronic disease that develops when the pancreas does not produce enough insulin or when the organism cannot effectively use the insulin produced. Insulin is a hormone that regulates blood sugar levels and gives us the necessary energy for life. If it cannot get into the cells, where it should be oxidized into energy, the sugar content in the blood increases to dangerous levels.

 

 

2 types of diabetes

There are two main types of diabetes. In the case of diabetes of the 1^sttype,   the body does not produce insulin normally and therefore, the person needs injections of insulin to survive. In the case of diabetes of the 2^nd type, which constitutes about 90% of all registered cases, the body usually produces its own insulin, but not enough, or it cannot used properly. Due to medical observations, patients with the diabetes of the 2^nd type are usually overweight and have sedentary lifestyle, these two factors increases the body's need for insulin.

 

 

Sometime later, high blood sugar levels can cause serious damage to major body organs and systems, causing heart attack, stroke, nerve damage, kidney failure, blindness, impotence and infections that can lead to amputation.

The main ideas of the World Health Day

 

 

WHO makes the issue of diabetes as a top issue of the World Health Day, the 7^th of April 2016, because:

1. The epidemic of diabetes is growing rapidly in many countries.
2. A significant number of the cases of diabetes can be prevented. It is proven that the simple change of lifestyle can effectively prevent or delay the development of diabetes of the 2^nd type. Having healthy weight, doing regular exercise and having a healthy diet can reduce the risk of diabetes.
3. Diabetes is treatable. Timely and professional treatment of diabetes can avoid many complications of this disease. Doctors should inform the patient about the diagnosis, instruct him/her about rules of a necessary diet and ways of treatment.
4. Global common efforts in prevention and treatment of diabetes will help to achieve the global objectives of reducing by 2030 one-third of premature mortality from this disease and its complications. WHO attracts the attention of society and each individual, governments, goods manufactures and media of different countries to this issue with the aim to defeat diabetes by the common effort!