Creating active living habitats for the prevention of type 2 diabetes and obesity: A health project
Suggested citation: Olt S. Creating active living habitats for the prevention of type 2 diabetes and obesity: A health project. Alban Med J 2018;1:9-10.
Creating active living habitats for the prevention of type 2 diabetes and obesity: A health project
Serdar Olt1
1 Adıyaman University Medical Faculty, Department of Internal Medicine, Adıyaman, Turkey.
Corresponding author: Serdar Olt, MD;
Address: Adıyaman University Faculty of Medicine, Department of Internal Medicine, Adıyaman, Turkey;
Telephone: +905307774064; E-mail: serdarolt84@yahoo.com
Noticeably, obesity leads to insulin resistance over time and then leads to the development of Type 2 diabetes mellitus (DM), leading to decreased insulin secretion and defective insulin secretion over time (1,2). That is, as the obesity rate increases, the increase in the frequency of Type 2 DM will be inevitable and it will be in the most frequent diseases list in all over the world. Diabetes mellitus is a chronic metabolic disease that affects millions of people in the world (3).
Type 2 DM constitutes approximately 90% of all diabetes forms. Most patients with Type 2 diabetes mellitus are undiagnosed in the early stage of the disease. High blood glucose levels will lead to chronic kidney failure, retinopathy, heart disease, stroke and foot ulcers over the years. Also it will affect the sustainable employability (4).
Despite the treatment options such as pharmacological and bariatric surgery together with diet and exercise recommendations after Type 2 DM diagnosis, it can be concluded based on the vast experience that the number of patients meeting the regular diet and exercise program is rather low. There are many patients who cannot exercise because of limited facilities, especially though they want to exercise. In this way, the more calorie intake with sedentary life will exacerbate insulin resistance and make glycemic regulation difficult.
How can we break this vicious cycle or reduce the frequency of obesity? I have a project. The name of the project is: ‘provide active living spaces to all citizens’. Creating areas for walking at home, at school, at work, at the hospital, in the neighborhood will break this vicious cycle. For example, if there is a hiking trail around each school, there will be a decrease in the number of our obese children. If walking areas and cycling routes are made around each house, every neighborhood, every workplace and every hospital, the obesity and diabetes frequency will be reduced and glycemic regulation in diabetes treatment will be better. This also will positively contribute to the country’s economy. In addition, people will be happier by releasing hormones such as endorphins.
I think this project is equivalent to bariatric surgery. With this project, the patients will eventually restore their health status without surgery, with no complications and will ultimately live a healthier and happier life.
Conflicts of interest: None declared.
Acknowledgement: This paper has been presented at the second Diabetes and Obesity Congress in Istanbul, on 02 March, 2018.
References
1. Ye J. Mechanisms of insulin resistance in obesity. Front Med 2013;7:14-24.
2. Ye J. Role of insulin in the pathogenesis of free fatty acid-induced insulin resistance in skeletal muscle. Endocr Metab Immune Disord Drug Targets 2007;7:65-74.
3. Mathers CD, Loncar D. Projections of global mortality and burden of disease from 2002 to 2030. PloS Med 2006;3:e442.
4. Ploeg L, Czabanowska K, Burazeri G. Diabetes and sustainable employability: A qualitative study. Alban Med J 2017;1:7-16.