Diabetes rising among young Chinese

gzlaser

YOUNG Chinese are increasingly adopting Western lifestyles. Many opt for high calorie fast food instead of healthier traditional meals and are becoming less and less physically active. This may come with a price: diabetes.

According to a recent VOA report, the disease is growing at a faster pace in Asia than anywhere else in the world and is increasingly affecting younger people.

Type 1 diabetes usually strikes children and young adults. Most patients have type 2 diabetes, which is mainly caused by being overweight and lack of exercise. Both types can lead to complications such as heart disease, kidney damage and blindness.

Medical textbooks often describe type 2 diabetes as a disease of the middle-aged and the elderly. But Jonathan Shaw, deputy director of the International Diabetes Institute in Australia, says this is changing rapidly.

\"We are now seeing quite commonly type 2 diabetes in adults in their 20s and 30s and there are now reports of type 2 diabetes in adolescence and even children,\" said Shaw. \"It always seems that Asians are more likely to develop diabetes than Europeans.\"

Shaw says there is evidence that some ethnic groups in Asia have a genetic predisposition toward diabetes. But the main cause is lifestyle. Because of its connection to lifestyle, the disease shows up in Asian cities far more than in the countryside.

Diabetes is sometimes called a silent killer because many people do not know they have the disease. Often there are no symptons for years. But doctors suggest a healthy diet and plenty of exercise are the best ways to avoid the disease.

About diabetes

Diabetes is a life-long disease marked by high levels of sugar in the blood. With the disease, the body does not produce or properly use insulin, a hormone needed to convert sugar, starches and other food into energy required for daily life. There are two main types of diabetes. Type 1 develops if the body is unable to produce any insulin. Type 2 develops when the body can still make some insulin, but not enough, or when the insulin produced does not work properly.

Be alert

If you have the following symptoms, better take a diabetes check.

Often feeling thirsty, drinking water a lot and urinating a lot, without any specific reason.

Eating more but weighing less.

Overweight.

The wounds heal slowly.

Being young but often feeling tired.