Diabetes in China
The situation
Information about the state of diabetes in China is not readily available, although some experts have stated that it is alarming. It is estimated that during the 21st Century almost 1 million new cases of diabetes will occur per year.
However, an accurate figure for diabetes in China is hard to estimate, as many cases are thought to be undiagnosed. China is thought to have edged ahead of India, becoming the country with the highest population of diabetes in the world. Like many other countries, the principal pre-cursor to the development of type 2 diabetes is obesity.
As China has become modernised, the sedentary lifestyle favoured by western people has infiltrated Chinese culture, leading to people eating more and exercising less. Until just over a decade ago, type 2 diabetes was very rare in China. However, in the run up to the end of the millennium, the scale of the problem started to become apparent.
The urban areas, where economic development is at its fastest and traditional dietary practices are eroded most quickly, are the hotspots for diabetes in Chins. The overall prevalence of type 2 diabetes in China was found to be 3.6 per cent in a survey of 40,000 people in urban areas.
When this is put into context, for China has a population of over 1.3 billion, the figures become alarming.
More Information
- http://www.worlddiabetesfoundation.org/composite-118.htm - National diabetes programme China.
- http://www.diabetes.co.uk/news/2006/Mar/china-inches-ahead-of-india-in-diabetes-population-terms.html - China article
- Please take a moment to look at the diabetes.co.uk forum, an online discussion board for the Chinese diabetic community: China forum
