The man who wants to conquer diabetes

[Northerner]

?Just a few decades ago we were slim and fit, now we are fat and feeble. Our genes have not kept up with the change,? says Leif Groop, a FiDiPro professor and one of the world?s best-known diabetes researchers.

Type 2 diabetes is the world?s fastest growing disease, most notably in Asia and the Far East. It currently afflicts around 350 million people, a figure estimated to rise to over 500 million by 2030.

?This incredible increase is caused by the rapid change in our lifestyle: we used to be slim and active, but of late have become overweight and stationary,? explains Professor Leif Groop.? Since our genes have not kept up with the pace of change, our system is unable to adapt.?

http://www.helsinki.fi/news/archive/10-2012/16-14-15-42.html

 

[Northerner]

Although type 2 diabetes is often characterised as a lifestyle disease, our genetic makeup plays a significant role in its emergence. ?It is possible ? though not easy ? to acquire the disease from poor lifestyle choices alone, but hereditary predisposition is nearly always involved in some way,? Groop explains. ?If either parent is type 2 diabetic, a child has a 40% higher risk of getting the disease than one whose parents do not have diabetes.?

Finally, someone says it! 🙂