Ninety per cent of the Maltese adult population is either overweight or obese further perpetuating the risk of diabetes, according to diabetologist Stephen Fava.

Malta has one of the highest rates of type 2 diabetes in the world, and the World Health Organisation has been sounding the alarm that unless urgent action is taken, diabetes-related deaths will increase by more than 50 per cent  in the next 10 years.

“The statistics are very dire, but the good news is that modest weight loss, coupled with  moderate intensity exercise on most days reduces the risk of type 2 diabetes by 30 per cent,” Prof. Fava said.

He was speaking at the National Diabetes Awareness Seminar organised by the President's Foundation for the Wellbeing of Society, in collaboration with PR Consultancy Narrative Structures.

Moderate exercise can reduce the risk of type 2 diabetes by a third. Photo: Shutterstock

The event, which was closed by President Marie-Louise Coleiro Preca and organised to mark World Diabetes Day, was supported by the EPP Group in the European Parliament and the Embassy of France in Malta.

During the half-day seminar, held at the Palace in Valletta, Prof. Fava also singled out Malta for its consumption of sugar — the island had the highest rate among its southern European counterparts.

Diabetes is a disease in which blood glucose, or blood sugar, levels are too high. And, according to researchers from Queensland University of Technology, excessive sugar consumption increases the brain’s dopamine levels in a similar way to other drugs such as cocaine.

Early diagnosis, Prof. Fava said, could be accomplished through relatively inexpensive blood testing. This coupled with the appropriate treatment to lower blood sugar would reduce the risk of complications.

Prof. Nebojsa Lalic, a Serbian expert in the field who also addressed the seminar, gave a lengthy presentation on the new developments in type 2 diabetes treatment. He said this disease was the primary cause of new cases of blindness in adults; the primary cause of end-stage renal disease and the primary cause of non-traumatic amputations worldwide.

However, Prof. Fava stressed that by lowering blood glucose, the risk of other diseases would also drastically decline: eye disease by 76 per cent; kidney disease by 50 per cent; and nerve disease by 60 per cent.

Closing the conference, the President spoke about how not everybody could afford to eat healthily, making junk food more appealing.

She also highlighted the lack of open spaces and said that throughout her presidency she had met 30,000 children, with most complaining about the absence of adequate space for them to play or exercise.

The President also emphasised the need for awareness about this condition from a young age, as those children who are suffering from this condition require support, even from their school friends.

“We have to ensure that everybody has access to affordable, healthy food… I urge the authorities to continue developing strategies and action plans to address this disease. If equipped with the correct information and access to treatment, diabetes could be controlled.”