SASKATOON – Someone is diagnosed with diabetes in Canada every three minutes. That’s 480 people every single day across the country and rates in Saskatchewan have more than doubled in the last decade.
Among those is Richard Hack of Regina who said after a major wake-up call, he kicked the carbs including his guilty passion, pasta.
“When I was diagnosed in 2014 with diabetes, as a result of some information gathered by my health care team, I did change my diet and ended up losing about 20-25 pounds,” said Hack.
“I increased my exercise, felt better and I’m no longer on medication and doing well.”
Hack was only on medication for Type 2 diabetes for six months and is now on the road to better health.
“It’s self-management and self-control.”
On Thursday, the World Health Organization released it’s latest statistics on the situation worldwide:
- About 422 million people worldwide have diabetes, a number likely to more than double in the next 20 years.
- In 2012, diabetes was the direct cause of 1.5 million deaths. More than 80 per cent of diabetes deaths occur in low- and middle-income countries.
- Type 2 accounts for around 90 per cent of all diabetes worldwide. Reports of Type 2 diabetes in children have increased worldwide.
READ MORE: Diabetes rates quadrupled to 422 million people in 2014: WHO
For the first time ever, diabetes would drive the focus of World Health Day this year and in Saskatchewan the numbers provided by the Canadian Diabetes Association are grim.
- The number of people living with diabetes is 97,000 up 59 per cent from 10 years ago
- Of the 97,000 people living with diabetes approximately 5,470 live with Type 1 diabetes and the rest live with Type 2 diabetes
The main types of diabetes are:
- Type 1 – occurs when the body is unable to produce insulin, a hormone that controls the level of sugar in the blood. The cause of Type 1 diabetes is unknown and it is not preventable. It most commonly begins in childhood and occurs when a person’s immune system destroys the cells in the pancreas that make insulin. It is found in five to 10 per cent of Canadians with diabetes.
- Type 2 – occurs when the pancreas either cannot effectively use or produce enough insulin. The causes of Type 2 diabetes can be genetic, behavioural and/or environmental. It usually develops in adulthood, although more children and adolescents are being diagnosed. It is found in approximately 90 per cent of Canadians living with diabetes.
- Prediabetes – occurs when an individual’s blood sugar levels are elevated, but not yet high enough to be type 2 diabetes. About half of those with prediabetes will develop type 2 diabetes.
The Public Health Agency of Canada estimates that 30 per cent of all people with diabetes don’t know they’re living with it. According to research, those who are disadvantaged are the most likely go undiagnosed and are diagnosed only when the diabetes has advanced.
“The rates of being hospitalized for complications for diabetes are much, much higher in poorer groups,” said Dr. Cory Neudorf, a researcher with the University of Saskatchewan.
Diabetes among First Nations people is also four to five times higher than the general population.
“As a First Nations person your risk of diabetes is greater the farther south you live and the association there seems to be more with the type of food and the extent that you’re living on a tradition diet versus adopting more unhealthy, western diet,” said Neudorf.
While screening is key, advice from physicians on how to manage diabetes should be customized and sensitive to a patient’s circumstances like suggesting nutritious foods that are less expensive.
For more information, visit the Canadian Diabetes Association or call 1-800-BANTING (226-8464).
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