Although the United States clearly takes the cake (and devours every last piece of it) as the fattest country in the world, there are many European nations who also seem to be indulging a bit too much these days. With cases of type 2 diabetes being diagnosed concurrently with rising obesity rates, this is clearly an issue that deserves worldwide attention.
Tipping the scales with an average Body Mass Index (BMI) of 28 is -- well, that's us here in the good ol' U.S. of A. Not far behind, however, are the following nations:
~ Italy: 24.3 (The pasta diet - "I never walk pasta good meal!")
~ France: 24.5 (These 'Francy' eaters are also reaching for their namesake fries and toast)
~ Poland: 24.8 (Sausages Warsaw being eaten by the dozen)
~ Netherlands: 24.9 ("Hollandaise Me")
~ Belgium: 25.1 (Also known as 'Bulgium')
~ United Kingdom: 25.4 (United under what king? The Burger King?)
~ Hungary: 25.6 (Not anymore)
~ Finland: 25.8 ("F" inland, it's time to start jogging to the outer land, too)
~ Greece: 25.9 (Enough said)
BMI plays a crucial role in our cardiovascular health and risk for developing type 2 diabetes. Clearly, the growing waistline problem is not limited to the borders of the United States, making these diseases a global risk.
1.
A. In respect of the comment: “…With cases of type 2 diabetes being diagnosed concurrently with rising obesity rates, this is clearly an issue that deserves worldwide attention…”
“…Numerous populations consuming high amounts of saturated fat have been observed to enjoy excellent health and extremely low rates of heart disease…”
(2006) Anthony Colpo [Author of “The Great Cholesterol CON” ‘Why everything You’ve been told about cholesterol, diet and heart disease is wrong’].
It is entirely possible to be thin & healthy or fat & healthy … whichever ‘look’ You prefer … but exactly where is the evidence to prove that ‘UNTREATED’ Type 2 ‘insulin-resistant’ diabetes … is other than a healthy adaptation to liberal nutrition?
Transient supernormal glycaemia ‘TSG’ occurs in every Human Being as a healthy and natural response to stress [‘adaptive medicine’] and may well increase HgA1c … so what? … when glucose levels surge up for a transient period [and then down again] an above average HgA1c can just as easily be viewed as a marker for a very healthy ‘stress adapted’ Human Being who has the benefit of being ‘insulin-resistant’.
B. What is the most definitive study which substantiates the benefit of reducing HgA1c in drug/insulin treated acute&chronic 'insulin-resistant diabetes' [Type 2] … as compared with treatment-free [drug/insulin] acute&chronic 'insulin-resistant diabetes' [ie in a ZERO drug (repeat zero) treatment control Group]? {ps please note the word written there says: “zero”} ie completely ignoring HgA1c value variability…
... Am seeking a ‘peer reviewed’ study that clearly disassociates drug/insulin treatment from any changes in Patient behaviour [eg diet/exercise] and/or categorically proves that drug/insulin treated acute&chronic 'insulin-resistant diabetes' is healthier than doing absolutely nothing [‘zero’] ie just accepting the higher HgA1c value and [possibly beneficial] blood glucose value [and possibly beneficial “insulin resistance”]; and
C. What is the most definitive study which provides incontrovertible evidence that the apparent insulin receptor mediated down-regulation [in response to: transient supernormal glycaemia ‘TSG’] is anything substantially other than a stress-adaptive mechanism of 'local' [on a cell-by-cell basis] intracellular cyto-protection from influx of excessive [blood] circulating glucose [ie homeostasis] eg cardio muscle protective?
... My understanding is that insulin receptor mediated down-regulation ‘IRD’ [aka “insulin resistance”] is primarily an adaptive [protective/regulatory/beneficial] reply to transient [and chronically repeated] oral indulgence/stress …
eg "...healthy young students were fed a very high fat diet containing egg yolks, heavy cream, and butter, and within 2 days all of the students had blood sugar levels high enough to be labelled diabetic..."
Sweeney J. Dietary factors that influence the dextrose tolerance test: A preliminary study. Archives of Internal Medicine 1927; 40:818.
“…After World War I, when insulin was first discovered, the medical profession thought diabetes would be totally curable as a medical problem. Diabetes was believed to be due to insulin deficiency, and everyone thought that since insulin would now be given to patients there would be no more problems. It seemed this way for a few years, but terrible things started happening to patients with diabetes who were given insulin to control their blood sugar levels. They developed eye disease, kidney disease, and, most important, accelerating atherosclerosis leading to blood vessel disease and early heart attacks. Their problems were worse than ever. Decades later, when the insulin assay became available and doctors were able to measure insulin levels in their patients’ bloodstreams, they found most interesting results: the insulin levels of type 1 (childhood-onset) diabetics were indeed low, but the levels in type 2 (adult-onset) diabetics were not only not low, but also were higher than those of people without diabetes. It became clear that type 2 diabetes is a disease of insulin resistance, not insulin deficiency. Type 2 diabetics produce plenty of insulin … I can only view today’s treatment of diabetic patients as malpractice…”
(1995) Dr Joel Fuhrman [a board-certified Family Physician practising in Belle Mead, New Jersey who specialises in preventing and reversing chronic conditions of high blood sugar; Dr Fuhrman is an active staff member of Hunterdon Medical Centre and provides nutritionally oriented medical care to Patients as well as nutritional education to other Physicians; Author of “Fasting and Eating for Health” ‘A Medical Doctor’s Program for Conquering Disease’].
Warm thanks, Nicholas Dynes Gracey, BSc(Hons) Medical Biochemistry, Birmingham University, UK c/o www.TheDiabetesBlog.com @ 19:13hrs FRI.30.MAR.2007.
Posted at 2:24PM on Mar 30th 2007 by Nicholas Dynes Gracey