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Although it is known that sugar promotes the development of serious diseases, including obesity, Poles consume it annually by over 12 kg more than a decade ago. This growth is mainly due to our passion for sweet carbonated drinks, which shorten life by up to 15 years.
The material in cooperation with the National Health Fund
From the report “Sugar, obesity – consequences. A literature review, estimates for Poland »prepared by a team of analysts from the National Health Fund, shows that we eat more and more sugar. And although we buy less of this pure in stores, we increased its consumption in ready-made meals and drinks. In this form, we eat 12 kg more of it a year than a decade ago. Meanwhile, it is one of the shorter paths to obesity. According to the World Health Organization (WHO), more than 2,5 million people worldwide die from diseases related to overweight and obesity each year. It is as if all the inhabitants of the European capital disappear every year.
The whole truth about sugar
When a British physiologist and nutritionist published the results of his research in 1972, which proved the harmful effects of sugar on obesity, the sugar industry made sure that his theories were discredited. The World Sugar Research Foundation established by the largest producers of sweet powder proved that it is not related to obesity, and that the main culprits are only fat and cholesterol. As a result, many nutritionists advised switching to a low-fat diet with an increased supply of sugar.
In 2009, a lecture by prof. Robert Lustig from the University of California in San Francisco entitled “Sugar – the bitter truth”. The scientist proved that due to the effects of sugar consumption, we should think of it as “cigarettes and alcohol – something that can kill us”. He called sugar a toxin that is responsible not only for obesity and diabetes, but also for heart disease, hypertension, and cancer. Already in 1996, obesity was recognized by the WHO as a disease that causes as many as 229 complications, including life-threatening ones. Worldwide, obesity-related diseases are estimated to cost over 90 million lives over the next 30 years.
Obesity is a deadly disease
Obesity is one of the risk factors for developing cancer. Obese women are more likely to develop cancer of the breast, endometrium, colon and gallbladder. Men are more likely to develop cancer of the prostate and colon. It is related, inter alia, with the fact that fat cells not only produce more substances that stimulate tumor cells to grow, but can also stimulate them to multiply. Obesity also increases the risk of heart attack and stroke, the leading cause of death in Poles. It also leads to the development of non-alcoholic fatty liver, chronic kidney disease, sleep apnea, and fertility disorders.
Gallbladder problems are six times more common in people with increased body weight. This group of patients is also more prone to stone formation and to disrupt the digestive tract. Being overweight also damages the lining of the joints. Hence the degeneration of the joints in overweight and obese people, which most often affect the knee joint.
World Diabetes Epidemic
Obesity is also responsible for the dramatic increase in the incidence of type 40 diabetes. The risk of developing this disease is up to XNUMX times higher in obese people than in people with normal weight. Diabetes has become a global epidemic and – what is worse – the increase in the disease has not been stopped.
All over the world, someone dies from this disease every 10 seconds. The life of diabetic patients who have already developed cardiovascular complications is reduced by 12 years. Meanwhile, diabetes can be prevented by weight loss. However, as much as 90 percent. the sick are obese. Forecasts regarding mortality due to diabetes in Poland assume that by 2030 it will increase by up to 100%.
Check how Polpril works – a drug used in diabetic glomerular nephropathy
Diabetes most often causes cardiovascular problems. Patients with such complications constitute approximately 80% of the total number of patients. all diabetics. In addition, it can damage the kidneys, leading to dialysis treatment and loss of vision. Diabetes also impairs the wound healing process and is responsible for the development of the so-called diabetic foot, which in many cases ends in amputation. On average, in Poland, a large amputation related to diabetes is performed every 2 hours.
We buy less sugar and eat more
Data proving higher sugar consumption by Poles translates into obesity statistics. According to the NCD Risk Factor Collaboration, three in five adult Poles are overweight and one in four is obese. The scale of this phenomenon is systematically growing. There is also no hope for improvement. The forecasts are not optimistic – it is estimated that in 2025, 26% will be obese. adult women and 30 percent. adult men.
Worse, our children are also putting on weight. Poland ranks first in Europe in terms of the growth rate of obese kids. In this way, we give them a shorter life and a lot of health problems. In addition, obese children are more likely than others to experience psychological problems and mental disorders.
Diabetes, apart from its serious consequences and complications, is a significant financial burden for patients and the budget of the National Health Fund.
– We’re going to invest in health, not disease. Today we spend around PLN 2 billion on the treatment of diabetes. That is why we want to change the philosophy and spend more funds on disease prevention and prophylaxis – emphasizes the President of the National Health Fund.
Nearly half of this sum (49%) was constituted by the costs of drugs used in diabetes. Another 25 percent are blood glucose test strips. Over 20 percent costs of services provided for diabetes, and 4 percent. insulin pumps and continuous glucose monitoring system. Patients paid extra PLN 0,5 billion out of their own pocket. The total, annual cost of diabetes in Poland is up to PLN 7 billion.
Diabetes shows the tragic consequences of abandoning prophylaxis. We have approx. 3 million diagnosed patients, but their number is really higher. Some of them do not even know about the disease because diabetes is tricky.
The material in cooperation with the National Health Fund
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