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More money, more food: India faces diabetes crisis
Expert says Indians are prone to diabetes because centuries of food shortages have led to genetic changes that encourage the storage of food as fat RISING incomes and huge servings of bad food - from deep-fried samosas to pizza and burgers - have sparked a surge in diabetes cases in India that threatens the health care system, experts say. The creaky medical system in this country of 1.1 billion people has traditionally focused on contagious diseases like malaria, polio and measles - made chronic by a lack of food and proper sanitation for millions.But as India's economy grows, more and more people - half the population is under 25 - are swapping lives of physical labour and homemade meals of rice and lentils for sedentary office jobs and big helpings of greasy take-away. As a result, the number of diabetes cases, now at some 35 million, is expected to more than double in the next 25 years, according to the World Health Organisation (WHO).
Posted by: Fred 2006-09-16 |
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