Sugar, main driver in rise of diabetes - Study
Enoch Darfah Frimpong
Health
3 minutes read
In a nutritional analysis of 175
countries, researchers found that every 150 calories increase in sugar was tied
to a 1.1 percent boost in diabetes, after controlling for other foods, total
calories, weight gain and sedentary lifestyles.
It noted that while experimental and
observational studies suggested that sugar intake was associated with the
development of Type 2 diabetes, independent of its role in obesity, it was
unclear whether alterations in sugar intake could account for differences in
diabetes prevalence among overall populations.
It said no other food types yielded
significant individual associations with diabetes prevalence after controlling
for obesity and other confounders.
The research said the impact of sugar
on diabetes was independent of sedentary behaviour and alcohol use and the
effect was modified but not confounded by obesity or overweight.
It said the duration and degree of
sugar exposure correlated significantly with diabetes prevalence in a
dose-dependent manner, while declines in sugar exposure correlated with
significant subsequent declines in diabetes rats independently of other
socioeconomic, dietary and obesity prevalence changes.
It said differences in sugar
availability explained variations in diabetes prevalence rates at a population
level that was not explained by physical activity, overweight or obesity.
The research said global diabetes
prevalence had more than doubled over the last three decades, with prevalence
rates far exceeding model projects, even after allowing for improved surveillance. It said nearly one in ten adults worldwide
were now affected by diabetes, adding that this striking statistic had led to
investigations into the population drivers of diabetes prevalence.
It said most of the worldwide rise was thought
to be Type 2 diabetes linked to the “metabolic syndrome” – the cluster of
metabolic perturbations that include dyslipidemia, hypertension and insulin
resistance.
The researchers
said obesity associated with economic development – particularly from lack of
exercise and increased consumption of calories – was thought to be the
strongest risk factor for metabolic syndrome and Type 2 diabetes.
Diabetes is caused by high levels of blood sugar. Symptoms include blurry vision, excess thirst and fatigue. Over time, diabetes can lead to difficulty in seeing , painful sores, amputations and nerve damage.
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