By Dana Malcolm
Staff Writer
November 18, 2022 – Of all the children in the Caribbean and North America at least 193,000 are diabetic according to the International Diabetes Federation (IDF) and as World Diabetes Day which falls on November 14th every year is celebrated, access to diabetes education is the focus of the 2022 campaign.
The US Centres for Disease Control (CDC) says diabetes is a chronic health condition that affects how your body turns food into energy. When there isn’t enough insulin or cells stop responding to insulin, too much blood sugar stays in your bloodstream.
The IDF says at least 537 million people globally have diabetes that means one in every 10 people. Based on the IDF Diabetes Atlas North America and the Caribbean has the second highest prevalence of Diabetes for all global regions at 14 per cent or 51 million people and that number is projected to increase by 24 per cent to 63 million by 2045.
It’s not just the large countries that are affected, Mexico, Jamaica, much of the Leeward Islands, Guyana and Suriname all have populations with a significant percentage of diabetics, over 10 percent in most cases. The countries with the most affected people are United States (32.2m); Mexico (14.1m); Canada (3m); Haiti (548,700) and Jamaica (231 000).
But the countries where diabetes is most prevalent even though they have smaller populations are Mexico; Saint Kitts and Nevis; Belize; Barbados; and Bermuda.
The statistics on children are also extreme with almost 200,000 minors affected.
Not only does the region have a significant level of diabetes in the population, we pay more than any other region in the world to treat the disease. The region spends 415 billion in diabetes expenses 43 per cent of the global total.
In order to lower this bill and keep populations healthier there are several things individuals can do. Unfortunately Type one diabetes is not preventable, it’s thought to be an auto immune response where the body attacks its own cells by accident.
Fortunately this type is less prevalent than Type Two diabetes which is preventable. In it your body doesn’t use insulin well and can’t keep blood sugar at normal levels it develops over many years. A healthy diet, exercise and losing weight are the usual prescriptions in combating Type 2 diabetes.
