Diabetes

Diabetes arises again in China

N. Hesadu Perera -8c

Diabetes arises again in China in 2016

Introduction (local perspective)
Almost 10% of all adults in China – about 110 million people is live (2016) with
diabetes. Without urgent action to reduce lifestyle risk factors like unhealthy diet
and lack of physical activity, that number is expected to increase to 150 million by
2040 – with major health, social and economic consequences.

In 2016 the theme of World Health Day is ‘Beat Diabetes’. This provides an
opportunity to reflect on the causes of the increasing prevalence of the disease in
China, as well as to discuss what can be done to stem the tide.

Type 1 diabetes (sometimes called juvenile diabetes) is characterized by deficient

insulin production and requires daily administration of insulin. The cause of Type
1 diabetes is unknown. Type 2 diabetes results from the body’s ineffective use of
insulin. Type 2 diabetes comprises 90% of people with diabetes around the world,
and is largely the result of excess body weight and physical inactivity.

“Rates of Type 2 diabetes in China have exploded in the last couple of decades.
In 1980, less than 5% of Chinese men had diabetes. And in 2016 it has increase by
10% . This increase has been largely driven by unhealthy lifestyles – diets that are
too high in sugar and fat, and people not getting enough physical activity,”

 https://diabetesjournals.org/diabetes/article/67/1/3/15795/Diabetes-in-China-
Epidemiology-and-Genetic-Risk.
 https://www.who.int/china/news/detail/06-04-2016-rate-of-diabetes-in-china-
explosive.
 https://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/diabetes-rates-by-
country#country-with-highest-rate.