Increase in diabetes in Africa blamed on inactive lifestyles

Wed, 08 Sep 2010
The prevalence of diabetes in Africa has been blamed on increasingly less active lifestyles by senior medical experts, it has been revealed. With over 300 million people suffering from diabetes around the world, it is of increasing concern that 80 per cent of sufferers live in developing countries where proper medical care can be limited.

The International Diabetes Federation (IDF) has demanded that the increase in diabetes in Africa is treated as a greater priority, both in terms of healthcare and educating people about the risk factors involved in the metabolic condition.

Professor Jean Claude Mbanya, president of the IDF, said that "Few realise the devastating effect diabetes is having on the people and healthcare systems in Africa."

Beth Mugo, Public Health minister in Kenya, recently warned that that lifestyle diseases such as diabetes could cause more deaths in the continent than more high-profile diseases, including malaria, TB and Aids put together. She commented "These have largely been caused by the trend of deviating from our fibre-rich and highly nutritious and health traditional diets to more refined and processed foods while at the same time leading sedentary lifestyles ."

The IDF, an umbrella organisation of over 200 national diabetes associations in over 160 countries, has urged countries in Africa improve their healthcare and available treatment, especially as the disease is more prevalent among the poor.

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