Diabetic-tied ailments require dietary sea change

Diabetes and high blood pressure are prevalent in the African-American community in the United States, and with idea of supersize meals and processed fast foods catching on everywhere, these non-communicable diseases are becoming an even bigger problem in other parts of the world — the Caribbean being one of those regions.

The Caribbean Community published a statistic from a study by the University of the West Indies that showed that 1 in 4 adults in the Caribbean nations have diabetes or are pre-diabetic. It also found that some are struggling with high blood pressure.

Furthermore, the study shows the risk to women of contracting the diseases is about 60 percent higher because they tend to be more obese. There has also been an increase in obesity among children and adolescents, which could result into diabetes within those age groups.

This is very concerning to government and health care officials.

Diabetes develops when the body cannot produce enough insulin or effectively use the insulin that it produces. The harmful effects include damage to the major organs and increase risk of heart attack, stroke, kidney failure or nerve damage. Read more

Source: Philadelphia Tribune