World Health Day 2016: WHO Calls for Global Action to Halt Rise In And Improve Care For People With Diabetes

07 Apr 2016 --- WHO has marked its annual World Health Day (7 April) with its first “Global report on diabetes”, where WHO highlights the need to step up prevention and treatment of the disease.

The World Health Organization (WHO) has selected diabetes as the theme for World Health Day 2016, to raise awareness of the ways in which diabetes can be prevented or managed effectively to avoid complications.

Health-promoting environments reduce risk factors
“If we are to make any headway in halting the rise in diabetes, we need to rethink our daily lives: to eat healthily, be physically active, and avoid excessive weight gain,” says Dr Margaret Chan, WHO Director-General. “Even in the poorest settings, governments must ensure that people are able to make these healthy choices and that health systems are able to diagnose and treat people with diabetes.”

Diabetes is a chronic, progressive, non non-communicable disease (NCD) that directly impacts more than 350 million people worldwide, mostly in low- and middle-income countries. This number is likely to be more than double in the next 20 years, which is in great part attributed to the rising levels of obesity and physical inactivity.
In Europe, based on the latest figures released by the International Diabetes Federation in 2015, it is estimated that 59.8 million people between 20-79 years of age are suffering from diabetes.

Diabetes is characterized by elevated levels of blood glucose (blood sugar). It occurs either when the pancreas does not produce enough of the insulin hormone, which regulates blood sugar, or when the body cannot effectively use the insulin it produces.

Key findings from WHO’s “Global report on diabetes”

Among the key findings from the “Global report on diabetes” are:

The number of people living with diabetes and its prevalence are growing in all regions of the world. In 2014, 422 million adults (or 8.5% of the population) had diabetes, compared with 108 million (4.7%) in 1980.
The epidemic of diabetes has major health and socioeconomic impacts, especially in developing countries.
In 2014, more than 1 in 3 adults aged over 18 years were overweight and more than one in 10 were obese.
The complications of diabetes can lead to heart attack, stroke, blindness, kidney failure and lower limb amputation. For example, rates of lower limb amputation are 10 to 20 times higher for people with diabetes.
Diabetes caused 1.5 million deaths in 2012. Higher-than-optimal blood glucose caused an additional 2.2 million deaths by increasing the risks of cardiovascular and other diseases.
Many of these deaths (43%) occur prematurely, before the age of 70 years, and are largely preventable through adoption of policies to create supportive environments for healthy lifestyles and better detection and treatment of the disease.
Good management includes use of a small set of generic medicines; interventions to promote healthy lifestyles; patient education to facilitate self-care; and regular screening for early detection and treatment of complications.

Global commitments to reduce diabetes
“Many cases of diabetes can be prevented, and measures exist to detect and manage the condition, improving the odds that people with diabetes live long and healthy lives,” says Dr Oleg Chestnov, WHO’s Assistant Director-General for NCDs and Mental Health. “But change greatly depends on governments doing more, including by implementing global commitments to address diabetes and other NCDs.”

Global efforts are underway to make medicines, including for NCDs, more available and affordable.

Help from industry
In a statement, the International Sweetener Association (ISA) have also shown their support for World Health Day 2016 as well as the fight against diabetes: “Low calorie sweeteners can become a sweet ally for both the prevention and management of diabetes, as they provide the desired sweet taste without affecting blood glucose and insulin levels.”

They recommend that sugars can be substituted with low calorie sweeteners: “As low calorie sweeteners have no impact on insulin and blood glucose levels, their importance in the diets of people with diabetes is undisputed. Low calorie sweeteners offer the pleasure of sweet tasting foods and drinks without the calories and most importantly without affecting glucose control, as recognized also in the joint scientific statement of the American Heart Association (AHA) and the American Diabetes Association (ADA)”

“Furthermore, in 2011, following the evaluation of the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) in relation to the evidence for low calorie sweeteners, the European Commission approved the following health claim: “The consumption of foods/ drinks containing low calorie sweeteners instead of sugar induces a lower blood glucose rise after their consumption compared to sugar-containing foods/ drinks”.

“With ‘prevention’ the number one goal of the ‘Beating Diabetes’ campaign, it reminds us yet again, that we as ingredients producers and food and beverage manufacturers have a vital part to play in the world’s ‘health mix’,” So says Anke Sentko, Vice President Regulatory Affairs & Nutrition Communication at BENEO.

“Blood glucose management is a key element in the promotion of long-term health and research has shown that it is never too early to start. Leading scientists agree that there is convincing evidence that eating in a way that keeps blood glucose low, while still having a carbohydrate rich diet, reduces the risk of type II diabetes, as well as obesity. It also helps to control blood glucose in people with diabetes. So, a better identification of low glycaemic product choices is necessary for food manufacturers, retailers and consumers.”

“We as an industry have a duty to support consumers in a better choice of low glycaemic food and drink options, through the use of ingredients that support a lower blood glucose response. BENEO’s chicory root fibres inulin and oligofructose, slow release carbohydrate isomaltulose (Palatinose) and sugar replacer isomalt, lower blood glucose response and have approved health claims in the EU related to this effect. If we are going to make long-term health part of our priority as an industry, then using ingredients such as these within the product mix will become increasingly important in 2016 and beyond.”