Expert urges government, EU to take diabetes seriously

Individual governments and the European Union need to take the threat of diabetes seriously, the president of the International Diabetes Federation Europe, Eberhard Standl insisted.

A staggering 31 million people in the EU suffer from diabetes and the number is expected to shoot up to about 40 million by 2025. Globally, the number is likely to climb from 246 million known cases in 2005 to 380 million in 2025.

Prof. Standl said that often, rather than looking at the country's public health system, the authorities point fingers at patients, with a common misconception being that it is the patients' fault for not exercising or over-eating.

"Countries, governments and the public need to take diabetes seriously. It is a misconception that it is the patients' fault because genetics also plays an important part," he said.

Speaking to The Times two days before the federation's general assembly - Together We Are Stronger - kicks off, Prof. Standl said countries need to set standards aimed at curbing the increase in type II diabetes, which has serious repercussions on patients' health.

He also called for countries to set up national action plans for the prevention and care of diabetes, giving high importance to early diagnosis since symptoms are many times silent.

Outlining the importance of exercise for the prevention and treatment of diabetes, Prof. Standl said the federation believed that each person should have the right to engage in physical activity every day - starting from school and continuing when they start working.

"It is important for workers to be able to include physical activity in their daily routine because this does not only contribute to prevent diabetes but even other diseases. We are trying to fight for this right on an EU level."

He said there was no doubt that exercise helps diabetes patients and can even help ward off the onset. In fact, research shows that 90 per cent of those at risk of diabetes can postpone the onset of the disease by 10 years if they eat healthily and exercise more.

The EU also has a role to play in ensuring that food labels are simple and transparent, enabling citizens to really know what ingredients are included in food items and be able to make an informed decision on whether to buy.

"This is a big problem and something that the EU can do a lot about," he said, adding that, while diabetes sufferers do not need to buy any special food, they really need to know what ingredients are in a product.

Apart from the effects of diabetes on the person, it also has an impact on the economy. Prof. Standl pointed out that diabetes normally affects people in their late 30s and early 40s, when they are still very active, and because it can lead to premature disability and retirement it can drain the workforce.

Although advances in medication have made the life of diabetics easier, Prof. Standl pointed out that half the success emanates from a healthy lifestyle rather than pharmacology. And a miracle pill to cure diabetes is not in the pipeline. "I don't think this will be the case for the next 10 years. Today, it is rather simple to treat blood lipids with statins but we are still far from a similar treatment to lower blood sugar."