World Diabetes Day: November 14
Precisely because of this fact, it is certainly a perfect opportunity to be able to direct the attention of the general public towards its causes, symptoms, treatments and possible complications of diabetes as a means to prevent it.
But also this day reminds us that diabetes is increasing every time, and will continue with this trend if we do not take action that, right now, could help us to prevent it.
During this day there will be numerous events around the world, organized mainly by the International Diabetes Federation. In Spain, for example, the Spanish Diabetes Federation and the Spanish Diabetes Society are member associations of the International Diabetes Federation.
A series of activities will be held that, in themselves, are already held every year on this special day, among which we find: sporting events, walks and bicycle rides, events for children, adolescents and young people, public informative meetings, and announcements on radio and television, among others.
And, in addition, there will be events and conferences that will pursue the objective of explaining the two main types of diabetes that exist, which are the so-called Diabetes type 1 Y type 2 diabetes.
Type 1 diabetes, related to genes?
The diabetes it is a disease that affects the way the body uses glucose, the main type of blood sugar. This glucose, which largely comes in those foods that we consume daily, is the main source of energy, necessary to supply all the functions of the body.
But to use glucose our body needs insulin. However, when our body does not produce it or does not work as it should, diabetes develops.
In the Diabetes type 1, the immune system attacks the pancreas destroying the cells that produce insulin, and it is a type of diabetes much more dangerous than type 2 diabetes, especially because no doctor or specialist can tell who can acquire it, and there are no bases for the moment they allow to prevent it.
In fact, for the moment, the cause of type 1 diabetes is not known for sure, it has been suspected for years that, in addition to being hereditary, it is related to genes, although it is believed that there are other factors that cause children suffer.
Type 2 diabetes, a preventable disease
In the type 2 diabetes, as we will see carefully and in detail in the near future, the pancreas is still capable of producing insulin, but in these cases the body does not receive it correctly.
This is because glucose can not normally enter the cells, and if people who suffer from it do not receive treatment, they could get sick from high blood sugar levels.
In this case type II diabetes can be prevented, especially avoiding excessive weight, overweight and obesity and a sedentary lifestyle.
Diabetes in the world
At present, more than 5 million people in the world suffer from type 1 diabetes, of which almost 390,000 are children. However, the International Diabetes Federation estimates that at least 250 million people in the world suffer from diabetes: to get an idea, more than the populations of Spain, Saudi Arabia, Australia, Argentina and South Africa combined.
According to calculations carried out by the World Health Organization, approximately in 2005 the number of people suffering from diabetes will be greater than the population of the United States (which currently has about 302,688,000 inhabitants).
Diabetes in Spain
In our country, there are 3,500,000 people affected with diabetes, and about one million are unaware that they have this disease.
In addition, of those people who do not have it at the moment, it is estimated that 23.2% of Spaniards have an elevated risk of suffering from type 2 diabebes.
With information from | Wikipedia / 20 Minutes / International Diabetes Federation / Spanish Diabetes Federation / Spanish Diabetes Society ThemesDiabetes
