Who has not heard about the false myths of diabetes?
Here you can see a list of the most common fake statements about diabetes.
Diabetes is not serious
In Spain, more than 5 million people suffer from diabetes (43% of them are still without diagnosing).In fact, the amputations rate is 3.19 per 1,000 affected.16% of blind people in Spain are because of diabetes.
only affects the elderly
There are two types of diabetes.In type 1, the body does not produce insulin and the people who suffer from it must inject it.This type of diabetes mainly affects children and young people.It represents 13% of cases in Spain and affects more than 29,000 children under 15 in our country.
Diabetes is not a deadly disease
It is estimated that 382 million people suffer from diabetes in the world, a figure that will increase to 592 million by 2035. When we do not make a specific and adequate care of diabetes, it can be deadly.In our country, 25,000 people die every year because of diabetes while more than 4 million people die a year due to this disease.Diabetes is expected to become the year 2030 in the seventh world cause of death.
Diabetes cannot be prevented
Type 1 diabetes cannot be prevented but type 2 diabetes, yes.In this type of diabetes, our pancreas produces insulin but the body does not respond to this hormone as it should.There are risk factors that we must take into account: to the demographic aging of the West joins an unhealthy lifestyle.Currently and according to the Diabetes Foundation, 23% of Spanish adult society is OBESA and 38% suffer overweight.In children, the percentage would be 15 and 25% respectively.
Diabetes is only present in rich countries
It is a world public health problem.In fact, the World Health Organization (WHO) has described diabetes as "a world epidemic."According to data from the International Diabetes Federation (IDF), 3 out of 4 people live today in countries with middle and low income.Child malnutrition and the lack of a public health system are usually two of the most important reasons for diabetic figures to be increased globally.
Diabetes is not a expensive disease
In Spain, direct costs associated with diabetes are 5,447 million euros per year (between treatments and hospitalizations), that is, 1,708 euros a year per patient.Indirect costs (absenteeism, early retirements, social expenses) amount to 17,630 million euros a year.Luckily, in Spain we enjoy an efficient public health system.In India, for example, the costs of the treatment of an individual with diabetes represent 15-25% of family income, according to IDF.
Diabetics cannot do sports
It is shown that playing sports helps control blood glucose levels.There are no certain limits but it is necessary to take precautions in the event that there is a high glucose decompensation.It is advisable to ingest before playing a carbohydrate supplement to prevent blood glucose from descending during the activity.
Food labeled as "without added sugar" or "low sugar content" are good
According to the study 'Social perception of diabetes in Spain', 60% of Spaniards share this false belief.This error can have greater consequences for people with diabetes because "these carbohydrates become sugars after digestion affecting glucose levels."
sweets, fruits and milk;some bad, others good
"The consumption ofSugar in itself is not direct cause of diabetes. "In addition, factors derived from an unhealthy lifestyle.
On the other hand, milk and fruit contain carbohydrates, so their digestion causes a rise in blood sugar levels.It is necessary to control the amounts taken from these foods.