Diabetes mellitus - often simply referred to as diabetes -is a condition in which a person has a high blood sugar (glucose) level, because the body doesn't produce enough insulin and/or because body cells don't properly respond to the insulin that is produced.
A Modern Epidemic
Obesity is a medical condition in which excess body fat has accumulated to the extent that it may have an adverse effect on health. Body mass index (BMI) defines people as overweight (pre-obese) when their BMI is between 25 kg/m2 and 30 kg/m2, and obese when it is greater than 30 kg/m2.
Risks
Being obese increases the risk for various diseases such as diabetes, heart disease and certain types of cancer. It is the number one preventable death cause world wide with an increasing number of patients especially in children and teenagers. It is therefore viewed as one of the most serious health problems in the 21th century, consuming over 6% of European health care budget.
Causes
In general, obesity is considered to be caused by a combination of
» Overeating and poor dietary choice
» Lack of physical activity
» Genetics and social determinants
A sedentary lifestyle plays a major role in developing obesity. According to the statistics, at least 60 % of Europeans exercise insufficiently, particulary because of less physical activity at the job and making excessive use of mechanized transportation.
The amount of calories consumed per capita increased significantly over the past decades and so did the numer of obese individuals with over 150 million patients currently in Europe (over 20% of the population).Agricultural and technical development made processed food (refined sugar, fast food and instant meals) cheap compared to fruit and vegetable. In addition, sweetened beverages cover up to a third of daily calory consumption of European citizens.
Genetic and social factors significantly contribute to the development of obesity. Although variations in specific genes controlling appetite and metabolism predispose to developing obesity, this does not explain the enormously increased number of obese indivuals during the last decades. The social enviroment plays another critical role. Among developed countries, adults an adolescents with low social and economic status are more likely to become obese.