Factors Hit Life Expectancy Obesity, a major risk factor for diabetes, affects 300 million people in the world and about 194 million people suffer from diabetes. By 2005, the number of obese people may soar to 333 million. Professor Claude Bouchard, International Society for the Study of Obesity, suspected that within a short period of time we would see a reduction in life expectancy because of the twin epidemics (obesity and diabetes). Obesity/Diabetes Could Hit Life Expectancy-Experts, by Patricia Reaney, Reuters, May 28 2004 Fast foods are generally high in salt, fat, and refined carbohydrates. People who frequently eat fast food are more likely to gain more weight and develop insulin resistance. Insulin is produced in the pancreas and released in response to spikes in blood glucose that occur after eating sweets or other carbohydrates. Normally, insulin stimulates cells to take up and utilize glucose. However, in insulin resistance, the body's cells do not respond sufficiently to insulin, thus, more insulin are required to bring down the glucose level. Consequently, people suffered from type II diabetes have chronically high insulin and blood glucose levels. The Lancet 2005; 365; 36-42. |
Deaths-Leading Causes (Data are for U.S. for year indicated) Number of deaths for leading causes of death Heart disease: 652,091 Cancer: 559,312 Stroke (cerebrovascular diseases): 143,579 Chronic lower respiratory diseases: 130,933 Accidents (unintentional injuries): 117,809 Diabetes: 75,119 Alzheimer's disease: 71,599 Influenza/Pneumonia: 63,001 Nephritis, nephrotic syndrome, and nephrosis: 43,901 Septicemia: 34,136 Source: Deaths: CDC.gov Final Data for 2005, Table C |