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The number of deaths from diabetes will soar by 25 per cent in the next decade thanks to Britain’s escalating weight problem, a World Health Organization report will reveal this week.

The extensive study says that 76 per cent of British men over the age of 30 and 69 per cent of women in the same age group, are overweight. This compares to 65 per cent of men and 55 per cent of women in 1995.

It is predicted that the number of overweight people will increase in the next 10 years, fuelling the rise in diabetes which by 2015 will be killing 8,000 people per year more than it does now. There will also be a surge in other chronic diseases such as heart disease and cancer.

Dr JoAnne Epping-Jordan, of the WHO’s department of chronic diseases and health promotion, said the estimates were ‘conservative’. ‘The rates of overweight people are rising quite quickly. We are measuring the numbers of people overweight because that is a major risk factor for diabetes and other chronic diseases. We want to highlight that one does not have to be obese - the risks start rising at a Body Mass Index (BMI) as low as 21,’ she said.

BMI is calculated by dividing weight in kilograms by height in metres squared. The normal range is 18.5 to 24.9, and you are obese if it is over 30. Epping-Jordan pointed to studies from the US that show a woman who is only just overweight has eight times the risk of developing diabetes of someone at an ideal weight. For men the risk is just over double.

Charities in Britain last night urged the government to take notice. ‘These figures confirm our worst fears,’ said Simon O’Neill, director of care and policy at Diabetes UK. ‘We know that Type 2 diabetes is linked to being overweight, so people must be educated to eat a healthy diet and take up regular physical activity or the numbers will continue to rise at an alarming rate.’

The charities Diabetes UK and the British Heart Foundation estimate that 33,000 people die each year as a result of diabetes. The disease raises the chance of developing serious health problems, including heart disease, strokes, high blood pressure, circulation problems and nerve, kidney and eye damage. If the WHO’s predictions are realized the number of deaths will rise to more than 41,000 in 2015.

Neville Rigby, director of policy and public affairs at the International Obesity Task Force, said: ‘The biggest proportion of the population affected [by chronic diseases] are in the overweight category. This is the tip of the iceberg.’

He added that BMI is not enough on its own to highlight a risk. A normal BMI but a large waist circumference could be just as dangerous, he said. The ‘apple shape’, he added ‘indicates densely packed visceral fat‘.

Source by: By Anushka Asthana, The Observer, October 2 2005

A new study suggests that swapping out a small amount of carbohydrates in an already heart-healthy diet for either protein-rich foods or unsaturated fats may provide additional benefits in lowering heart disease risk.

Reducing Heart Risk

The protein-rich diet reduced heart disease risk by 21%, and the monounsaturated-fat-rich diet reduced it by almost 20%, compared with the 16% reduction found with the carbohydrate-rich diet.

“Our study provides strong evidence that replacing some carbohydrate with either protein or monounsaturated fat has important health benefits,” says Appel. “There is already agreement that reducing saturated fat lowers risk for heart disease, but the question of which macronutrient [fat, protein, or carbohydrate] to emphasize has been controversial.”

Trade in a Few Carbs for Heart Benefits

In the high-protein diet, researchers replaced approximately 10% of the total daily calories from carbohydrates with protein. About 50% of the protein came from plant sources, such as beans, nuts, seeds, and some grains. The unsaturated fat diet was enriched with monounsaturated fats and included olive and canola oils, as well as some nuts and seeds.

In the study, which appears in The Journal of the American Medical Association, researchers compared the effects of the three diets in 164 adults who either had high blood pressure or were on the verge of having it.

Blood Pressure and Cholesterol Changes

Researchers found that blood pressure and cholesterol levels improved after each diet phase compared with the start of the study. But the benefits achieved with the protein-rich and monounsaturated-fat-rich diets were greater than with the DASH-based diet alone.

In an editorial that accompanies the study, Myron H. Weinberger, MD, of Indiana University Medical Center, says the results of this study may be difficult to apply to the public. He says the people in this study were highly motivated to follow the diets because of their blood pressure status and the fact that all of the foods were provided to them.
“Although the benefit of blood pressure reduction in those in the prehypertensive group is clear,” Weinberger says the ability to control high blood pressure adequately in the people with existing hypertension is not clear. “It is likely that more than diet will be required to reach goal blood pressures for the majority of these individuals.”

By Jennifer Warner, WebMD Medical News

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New research shows how a fat found in fish such as salmon, mackerel, and herring might help fight Alzheimer’s disease. The fat is called DHA. That’s short for docosahexaenoic acid. Technically, it’s an omega-3 fatty acid.

Fat to the Rescue
Scientists don’t know exactly what triggers Alzheimer’s disease to develop. However, they’ve noticed clumps of amyloidal protein and bundles of tangles (twisted fibers) in brains of people who suffer with the condition.

It’s unclear whether plaques or tangles cause Alzheimer’s disease or whether these are a byproduct of some other process that causes the condition.

DHA may help put the brakes on beta-amyloid proteins and rev up NPD1, write Bazan and colleagues. NPD1 acts like a bodyguard for brain cells, blocking the disease’s attempts to make brain cells die, the study shows.

Fish as Brain Food
Bazan’s study was done in a lab. They didn’t serve anyone fish for supper every night or dole out fish oil capsules. The researchers also don’t recommend any particular dose of DHA for Alzheimer’s disease. But they note that DHA is essential for the brain.

Past studies have shown that people who eat a lot of fish tend to be less likely to develop Alzheimer’s disease than those who hardly ever eat fish. For instance, a study published in 2003 showed that elderly Chicagoans who reported eating fish once a week for four years developed Alzheimer’s less often than those who rarely or never ate fish.never ate fish.

That doesn’t prove that fish prevents Alzheimer’s, but the pattern is getting lots of attention. DHA has also been found to be important for babies’ brain development. Fish oil capsules are another option.

In December 2004, consumerlab.com reported that its tests found no mercury or other toxins called PCBs in 41 fish oil supplements. Discuss any supplements you take with your doctor.

By Miranda Hitti, WebMD Medical News, September 2005

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