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'Vegetarianism no shield against diabetes'

By Our Special Correspondent

MADURAI APRIL 12. Genetic predisposition, besides adoption of an `urban lifestyle', is the major factor for a large number of Indians being diabetic, according to the 2002 Annual Review of the World Diabetes Foundation. Diabetes, now considered a pandemic, has a tendency to attack the south Asian people, especially the Indians.

Recent surveys have indicated that there was 20 per cent certainty of one becoming a diabetic if there was a family history of the disease. And the percentage progressed, with one of the parents being a diabetic, to 40 per cent. There is 70 per cent chance if one of the parents is a diabetic and one can be 90 per cent sure if both the parents have diabetes. The WHO attributes the incidence of diabetes, especially the type 2, in the developing countries to cultural changes, ageing and growing populations, dietary changes and declining physical activity. Anil Kapur, vice-chairman, WDF, who was in the city to launch a diabetic retinopathy project, said a regular intake of vegetarian food would not be a shield against diabetes. Because even vegetarians in India had a tendency to indulge in an excess intake of high-fat, calorie-dense refined food.

According to the review, the genetic factor was evident in South Asia, especially India and Pakistan, where there was a greater risk of developing diabetes, compared to other ethnic groups. Epidemiological studies conducted in Chennai, according to the review, had shown that the percentage of the adult urban population affected by diabetes had been increasing every year - from 5.2 per cent in 1984 to 13.9 per cent in 2000. The studies had also revealed that ``urbanisation lead to changes in lifestyle'', like changes in dietary habits, physical activity and stress phenomenon. These factors made the people with a genetic predisposition vulnerable to diabetes.

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