Obesity and extreme obesity can reduce life expectancy by up to eight years and deprive people of as much as 19 years of good health, according to a study published.
http://www.channelnewsasia.com/mobile/latestnews/obesity-clips-up-to-8/1511124.html
diabetes
Diabetes in midlife could lead to mental decline by 70: Study
Diabetes ages the mind about five years faster than normal, and those diagnosed in their 50s are far more likely to experience mental decline by age 70, researchers said. The study in the journal Annals of Internal Medicine was based on more than 15,000 US adults followed from 1987 to 2013.
They found 19 per cent more mental decline than expected in participants with poorly controlled diabetes, and smaller declines for those with controlled diabetes and pre-diabetes. The race of the patients had no factor in their outcomes.
http://www.channelnewsasia.com/mobile/health/diabetes-in-midlife-could/1505076.html
Diabetes on the rise among India’s children
Childhood diabetes is becoming a serious health problem in India. Nearly a million children and teenagers have been diagnosed with the disease.
http://www.channelnewsasia.com/mobile/asiapacific/diabetes-on-the-rise/1473198.html
Malays, Indians with Type 2 diabetes more likely to suffer strokes, heart attacks: Study
In a decade-long diabetes study, researchers from Khoo Teck Puat Hospital (KTPH) found that among those with Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus (T2DM), Malays and Indians are at higher risk of cardiovascular diseases compared to Chinese patients.Malay patients had two times higher risk while Indians had 1.7 times higher risk of diseases such as heart attacks and strokes, compared to Chinese patients with T2DM, according to findings of a study released by the healthcare cluster that manages KTPH, Alexandra Health.
http://www.channelnewsasia.com/mobile/health/malays-indians-with-type/1454528.html
Coffee Addicts and Diabetes
A recent report claims people who boosted their coffee intake by “moderate to large” doses in a US-based study had a lower risk for adult-onset diabetes than those with stable consumption. Reports linking certain food and disease incidence and outcome are not uncommon. It should be noted that these studies merely report an association between the food and the disease, and do not indicate a cause and effect between consumption of the food and disease itself. To illustrate with an example, it might be that people who drinks more coffee, for some reasons coincidentally or otherwise, might just happened to have other confounding factors that reduced the risk of diabetes. These studies will not always be able to account for these ‘confounders’ as thoroughly. Therefore, reports linking certain food with risk of developing a disease should always be interpreted cautiously. When it comes to diet, moderation is always the key. And diet itself should always be in tandem with physical activity, regular heath screening and prompt medical attention in the event of disease onset, in order to ensure the best outcome.
Boy Spoke First Word with ‘Miracle’ Diabetes Treatment
A five-year-old boy whose chronic diabetes meant he had never spoken said his first words just days after starting a ‘miracle’ treatment. Jack Neighbour suffered from health complications related to neonatal diabetes and it meant he could only communicate with his family through picture cards. But just six weeks after a genetic test by a team at the University of Exeter he switched from insulin injections to tablets. While the sensational headlines here is certainly uplifting, the ‘miracle’ treatment here is probably no more than the common oral diabetic agents, likely sulphonyureas here, that are already widely used for many diabetics for a long time.
Neonatal diabetes is a form of diabetes occurring within 6 months of birth, and are commonly wrongly classified as type 1 diabetes (insulin dependent diabetes). Patients are often put on insulin injections from a tender age, often with unsatisfactory control. An astute endocrinologist will be able to easily differentiate this form of diabetes from type 1, insulin requiring diabetes. A genetic test, which is widely available nowadays can detect the presence of a mutation causing neonatal diabetes. With genetic testing result, and the presence of clinical features well supporting a diagnosis of neonatal diabetes, there is a good chance that patients can be successfully converted from insulin treatment to oral agents, often with marked improvement in their sugar control and quality of life.
The story here underscore the importance of seeking proper treatment for your diabetes, and consulting an endocrinologist promptly when there are unusual features in your diabetes that does not commensurate with the garden variety diabetes which are ubiquitous nowadays.
Scientists Find Key ‘Fat Genes’
Geneticists said on Wednesday they had pinpointed the most important obesity gene yet, and its functioning may explain why some people are more prone to obesity than others. It is worthwhile remembering that besides genes, obesity is a culmination of multiple other factors including lack of exercise and poor dietary habits. So rather than putting all the blame on your genes, an active lifestyle and good dietary choices still remain the most important interventions in mitigating obesity.
Obesity and related diseases like diabetes have gained epidemic proportions in many developed countries. According to the World Health Organisation (WHO), obesity nearly doubled worldwide from 1980 to 2008.
One Million Kg Challenge Launched To Get Singaporeans To Keep Fit
According to the National Health Survey 2010, 1.7 million Singaporeans have a body mass index (BMI) of 23 or above, and they are at risk of obesity-related diseases such as diabetes, heart diseases and stroke. HPB says one million Singaporeans with BMI of 23 or more are either already pre-diabetic, or suffer at least one or more chronic condition such as diabetes. The One Million KG Challenge aims to get Singapore residents to collectively lose one million kilogrammes by 2016.
These community initiatives reflect a greater awareness of the need to combat obesity in order to curb the increasing prevalence of diabetes, amongst other lifestyle diseases. While community initiatives like this are highly commendable in their efforts to inspire the general public to lose weight and improve their health, the bigger challenge lies in how to maintain the weight lost and to persist in living a healthy lifestyle after the challenge is over.
New Diabetes Prevention Website Launched in Singapore
A new diabetes prevention website has been launched in an attempt to stop what doctors say is a worsening epidemic in Asia. Studies have shown that Asians are at higher risk of developing type 2 diabetes, when compared with people of European ancestry. Asians are also more likely to develop the disease even at a lower BMI. This means that even though some Asian populations currently have a lower prevalence of overweight and obese individuals than populations in the West, they have a disproportionately high percentage of people with diabetes. Currently, 60% of the world’s diabetic population is Asian.
In Singapore, already 11.3% of adults have diabetes, and the numbers are set to worsen with the aging population and increasing obesity prevalence.
New Diabetes Drug To Be Available
Another new drug canagliflozin has been approved for the treatment of diabetes in the UK. This is a new class of anti-diabetic medication that has joined the existing armory of oral agents in treatment of diabetes. Very soon, the drug will be available in Singapore similarly. The potential market for type 2 diabetes drugs is enormous and growing. An estimated 382 million people worldwide have diabetes, according to the International Diabetes Federation, with numbers set to worsen in many countries with aging population and increasing prevalence of obesity. While the addition of new treatment for diabetes is welcome, no drug is perfect enough to be a miracle panacea for the treatment of diabetes. Successful management of diabetes requires the concerted effort of appropriate medications, the sound clinical judgement of an astute physician, conscientious lifestyle modifications, consistent dietary habits, and most importantly, the patients’ motivation and desire to control their diabetes well.
Dr Foo Endocrinology 