One In Ten Ontarians To Have Diabetes By 2010: Study
Posted June 11, 2008 12:00 pm.
This article is more than 5 years old.
Eat right and exercise.
Patients hear this common refrain from doctors as a cure for anything from common cold to heart disease, and it’s widely touted as the secret to life’s longevity.
But for those who don’t heed the good advice, there’s a drastically greater chance of developing type 2 diabetes.
That’s bad news for Ontarians, since new numbers predict that by 2010, a tenth of the province’s residents may suffer from the ailment.
Projections from the Health Ministry have the number of sufferers at 1.2 million within just two years – double the amount there was in 2000. Even as they crunch the figures, they refer to them as “alarming.”
Experts are doing everything they can to change that alarming trend. “The reversal is going to take many generations, because we’re going to have to start with our kids in school,” warns Karen Philp of the Canadian Diabetes Association. “We’re going to have to teach them how to eat better and how to be physically active.”
Another part of the strategy will be to create a diabetes registry in the province. “The database would then allow us to track people’s blood sugar over a period of time and help us prevent the complications of diabetes,” she explains.
But the impact of the increase in cases will be felt now. “Ten per cent of our beds in emergency departments and in hospitals are people with diabetes who aren’t managing well,” Philp worries.
While prevention is the key, there are ways to manage the condition for those who already have it.
Checking your blood sugar regularly is a start. So is properly taking your medications and making healthier lifestyle choices.
And don’t get complacent because time has a way of sneaking up on you. “If you’re over 40 and if you’re physically inactive or overweight, you’re at extreme high risk,” Philp reminds.
Those suffering from diabetes may live with the following symptoms:
Type 1 Symptoms
- Frequent urination
- Extreme hunger and thirst
- Weight loss
- Weakness and tiredness
Type 2 is the most common form of the illness, striking about 90 per cent of the diabetes population. The causes vary and can include age, weight and heredity. Most people suffering from this other form of the ailment actually do produce enough insulin. But their bodies can’t use it correctly.
Type 2 Symptoms
- Feeling tired
- Blurred vision
- Dry, itchy skin
- Increased hunger and thirst
- Increased urination
- Tingling or loss of feeling in hands or feet
- Non-healing infections of skin, vagina and/or bladder
- Vaginal yeast infections
And if it’s allowed to go untended, it cause the following:
- Velvety dark skin changes of the neck, armpit and groin, called acanthosis nigricans
- Numbness and tingling of the hands and feet
- Decreased vision
- Impotency
- Slow healing cuts and sores
- Kidney disease
- Nerve damage
- Heart disease
- Foot problems
- Blood vessel diseases
- Amputations
- Early death
Because nobody would live with these symptoms by choice, it’s important to lower your risks of type 2 diabetes where you can.
The key to making that happen? Diet and exercise. Maintaining a healthy body mass index (BMI) is described as “critical” to preventing the onset of diabetes. There’s a very strong link between obesity and the disease. The good news is that this means you can do an awful lot to prevent it.
There are different kinds of the disease: Type 1 and Type 2. Studies have shown that lifestyle (diet and exercise) can either stop or stall Type 2 in high-risk grown-ups. But so far, no one knows how to prevent Type 1.
That form of the illness is more common among kids and young adults. But it can still attack at any age. It makes up about 10 per cent of all instances of the disease. If you suffer from Type 1, your body doesn’t produce insulin. That means you have to have injections every day to metabolize the glucose you take in.
Other type 2 diabetes risk factors include the following:
- High blood pressure
- High blood triglyceride (fat) levels
- Gestational diabetes or giving birth to a baby weighing more than 9 pounds
- High-fat diet
- High alcohol intake
- Sedentary lifestyle
- Obesity or being overweight
- Ethnicity: Certain groups, such as African Americans, Native Americans, Hispanic Americans, and Japanese Americans, have a greater risk of developing type 2 diabetes than non-Hispanic whites.
- Aging: Increasing age is a significant risk factor for type 2 diabetes. The risk of developing type 2 diabetes begins to rise significantly at about age 45 years, and rises considerably after age 65 years.
For information on treating diabetes, click here.
To reach the Canadian Diabetes Association, click here.
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