Diabetes increasing

Press, 1 October 1979, Page 6

Diabetes increasing

New Zealand could have problems getting its dairy products into Third World countries because of recommendations about diabetes by the World Health Organisation.

The World Health Organisation has asked the governments of Third World Countries to prevent their people from eating large amounts of animal fat and sugar. The request was made after a recent international conference on diabetes in Vienna, which showed that the rate of the illness in people of the Third World is soaring. Professor D. W. Beaven, physician-in-c*harge of the diabetes service for the North Canterbury Hospital Board, attended the meeting and gave courses in Indonesia and Fiji. He said that the rate of diabetes in cities in the Third World countries had risen from about 1 per cent to 15 per cent in recent years. This I was because the people were [adopting Western-style eatiing habits. Many South-East [Asians who used to eat rice for breakfast now wanted

toast and butter with sweet] toppings, and their blood-1 sugar count was going up as] a result. Diabetes was an illness] which occurred when the body could not produce enough insulin — the agent that regulated blood-sugar levels. If blood-sugar levels were too high sugar filtered into other organs in the body and could damage them: if the blood-sugar level fell too low the person eventually went into a coma. Professor Beaven said that diabetes had always been considered a minor disorder but now Americans were ranking it as the thirdj highest health risk after [heart attacks and cancer. | He said W.H.O. was trying |to impress upon all nations [the importance of preventing [diabetes, one of the ways being to eat a low-fat diet and remain at ideal body weight.

New Zealand’s chances of getting butter and cheese into Third World countries would be considerably lessened if the W.H.O. recommendations were followed, said Professor Beaven.