Six lifestyle changes to prevent diabetes

Diabetes affects millions of people around the world. 

Although it is preventable, sadly millions of people around the globe suffer from it. 

Here are eight quick facts by World Diabetes Day organisation. 

- 463-million adults (1-in-11) were living with diabetes in 2019. The number of people living with diabetes is expected rise to 578-million by 2030.

- 1 in 2 adults with diabetes remain undiagnosed (232-million). The majority have type 2 diabetes.

- More than 3 in 4 people with diabetes live in low and middle-income countries.

- 1 in 6 live births (20-million) are affected by high blood glucose (hyperglycaemia) in pregnancy.

- Two-thirds of people with diabetes live in urban areas and three-quarters are of working age.

- 1 in 5 people with diabetes (136-million) are above 65 years old.

- Diabetes caused 4.2-million deaths in 2019.

- Diabetes was responsible for at least $760-billion in health expenditure in 2019 – 10% of the global total spent on healthcare.

Momentum in partnership with hello doctor shares the following six tips to reduce your chances of suffering from the disease.

 Watch less TV

"Each hour of watching TV, or sitting at your desk, increases your risk of developing diabetes by 3.4%."

Lose weight

"If you are at high risk and overweight, losing around 5-7% can lower your risk of diabetes up to 58%."

Monitor your health

"High blood pressure is a strong predictor of the risk of developing diabetes."

Quit smoking

"Smokers are 30%-40% more likely to develop type 2 diabetes than people who don't. "

Eat more vegetables

"An increase of around 1/2 cup of fresh veggies each day could lower your risk of developing diabetes by 25%."

Deal with insomnia

"Insomnia raises the risk for type 2 diabetes by 17%."

Image courtesy of iStock/ @Chinnapong