Diabesity – A Global Challenge

  • Most of the world’s population live in countries where overweight and obesity kills more people than underweight.
  • Obesity is preventable. Obesity, pre-diabetes and diabetes (diabesity) which now affects 1 in 2 Americans arises out of existing social, economic and political conditions.
  • Social COSTS
    • The increasing trends towards obesity causes estimated costs of USD 170 billion per year in China and costing the American healthcare system as much as $1 billion a day respectively the global costs are estimated at about USD 830 billion per year.
    • Over 10 years, these conditions will cost Americaover $3.5 trillion in direct costs, not including lost productivity and the costs in quality of life. Diabetes alone, consumes an average of between 10 and 15 % of Total Healthcare Expenses per country.
    • Therefore countries like Mexico, France, Hungary etc. introduced even sugar taxes.
  • Refrences:
    • Mark Hyman – The Blood Sugar Solution; WHO – “Global report on diabetes”, “Global strategy on diet, physical activity and health”.
    • Prof. Ashkan Afshin from the Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation at the University of Washington-Seattle