Causes and Prevention of Type 2 Diabetes in Urban China - Essay Example

2005 pp2132) (Appendix i). Because of the human body's need to properly process and synthesize dietary sugar, an ailment which interferes with that process intrudes into fundamental health and lifestyle choices of affected individuals. In addition, because the disease can also include debilitating complications such as blindness or sensory impairment (WHO_FS 138 2002: 1), diabetes not only has a devastating impact on individuals, but also on their regions, their countries, and the world at large.

To fully understand the crisis represented by this disease, it is important to establish its causes and contributing physiological and behavioural phenomena. Diabetes is a chronic condition that occurs when the pancreas does not produce enough insulin, or when the body cannot effectively use the insulin it produces. The resulting hyperglycemia and related metabolic disturbances can lead to serious damage to many of the body's systems, particularly nerves and blood vessels (WHO_FS 138 2002: pp.1). There are two principle forms of diabetes, known as type 1 and type 2.

Type 1 is characterized by failure of the pancreas to produce insulin, and type 2 by the inability to properly utilize insulin. Treatment normally consists of insulin injections type 1 diabetics, and oral medications in conjunction with lifestyle changes for type