The FINANCIAL — The rapidly emerging diabetes epidemic in Asia has the potential to overwhelm health care systems, undermine economic growth, and inflict unprecedented levels of disability on the world’s most populous continent.
The FINANCIAL — The rapidly emerging diabetes epidemic in Asia has the potential to overwhelm health care systems, undermine economic growth, and inflict unprecedented levels of disability on the world’s most populous continent. A new website—the Asian Diabetes Prevention Initiative—aims to put a stop to this deadly epidemic by offering Asian countries authoritative, science-based information to stop the spread of type 2 diabetes, according to The President and Fellows of Harvard College.
The website—www.asiandiabetesprevention.org—a joint initiative between the Department of Nutrition at Harvard School of Public Health (HSPH) and Saw Swee Hock School of Public Health (SSHSPH) at the National University of Singapore (NUS), gives the public, health professionals, and public health practitioners quick and easy access to information about the causes of type 2 diabetes, its dire consequences, and what can and must be done to decrease the prevalence of this disease in Asia.
“Asia has become the epicenter of the global diabetes epidemic,” said Frank Hu, professor of nutrition and epidemiology at HSPH and co-editorial director of the new website. “By providing the latest advances in research on epidemiology and state-of-the-art practices for diabetes prevention through lifestyle and environmental changes, this website will raise the public’s awareness about this ‘silent’ epidemic and spur urgent actions to address it,” he added.
Created by nutrition experts at HSPH and SSHSPH, including those behind the popular and authoritative websites, The Nutrition Source and The Obesity Prevention Source, The Asian Diabetes Prevention Initiative website accepts no subsidies or commercial support from any industry, so that it can deliver an unbiased perspective on diabetes prevention.
Diabetes is an important health concern in Asia, especially because Asian populations are more vulnerable to developing type 2 diabetes at lower body mass indexes (BMIs) than people of European ancestry. However, much of the information on diabetes prevention on the internet focuses on Western settings, for example, foods commonly eaten in Western countries, says Rob van Dam, associate professor at SSHSPH and co-editorial director of the new website. “Our website takes into account risk profiles and dietary and lifestyle habits that are common in Asia and can thus provide more relevant information.”
The Asian Diabetes Prevention Initiative website conveys to individuals and communities ways to make better dietary and lifestyle choices and reduce the risk of getting the disease, according to The President and Fellows of Harvard College.
“We need to dispel the prevailing myth that type 2 diabetes is inevitable if it runs in the family. The scientific evidence is compelling that type 2 diabetes can be prevented. We need to get the message out loud and clear now before the diabetes storm in Asia worsens,” said Lilian Cheung, director of health promotion & communication in the Department of Nutrition at HSPH and co-editorial director of the new website.
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