Diabetes is fattening with adult children and adolescents

Three million Spaniards suffer from diabetes. Of these, half a million are in Andalusia, while the number of people affected by this disease, already considered by scientists as the silent epidemic of the twenty-first century along with obesity and cardiovascular disease, is growing at a dizzying pace, especially in two groups cebándose of the population: children and adolescents.

"In the 20 minutes that is going to take this press conference, 240 people will be diagnosed with type 2 diabetes." In this way the doctor warned Tinahones Francisco, an expert in endocrine research in diabetes, high on the increased incidence of the disease in the Spanish population. Tinahones, organizer of the 33rd Congress of the Andalusian Society of Endocrinology and Nutrition (Saen) which is being held these days in Malaga, emphasized that this increase is 2% a year, finding a new diabetes among children targeted for their anything healthy style of life.

"Andalusia has a child obesity rate of 15% and 20% of overweight, rates the highest in Europe. Soon it will be normal to be obese. The generation that now has 15 years of neglecting to follow the healthy habits in food and encouraging sedentary, it will be a generation of obese at age 50, "explained Tinahones.

The specialist noted that an increasing number of cases of children and adolescents who suffer from type 2 diabetes, typical of adults. This form occurs when the body does not use insulin efficiently, and can be prevented, but this is not done with the type 1, which is the most common autoimmune and in the world. According Tinahones, society at all levels should "go on high alert for this epidemic and because 15% of health spending in Spain" because it can be fought.

Half an hour of walking
"Prevention is vital. We face a structural problem, as evidenced by the endocrine also suffer the same level as the population despite having plenty of information about it," said the researcher. "Promoting healthy eating and sport at an early age is essential to maintaining a proper weight and avoid becoming targets of the disease," prescribed Tinahones, who noted that only half an hour of walking a day "prevents take about two kilos and average weight per year. "

Global studies have shown that type 2 diabetes can be prevented by the loss of 7% to 10% of body weight and increased physical activity on a modest scale. With regard to the lines of investigation that is still against diabetes, Tinahones said he hoped that in a few years begin to bear fruit with the research that stem cells are still at centers in Spain. "We are trying to stem cells from adipose tissue are differentiated into something beneficial and converted already believe and do not produce insulin diabetes," he said.

Yesterday, more than 400 participating pharmacies Andalusia, coinciding with World Diabetes Day, in a campaign for the prevention and early detection of this disease