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6.5% solution to
53bn euro epidemic
Mum's the word
at RRI
Value chain
under lock & key
Health
6.5% solution to 53bn euro epidemic
People with type 2 diabetes should
aim to keep their blood glucose levels (HbA1c) below 6.5%, says the
world’s first evidence-based guideline for managing the disease.
The finding should do three things:
confirm consumers interest in proper diet; strengthen food and beverage
manufacturers’ interest in providing more information on the glycaemic
content of their products; and stimulate more research into non-invasive
forms of delivering insulin to patients.
Caring of patients with adult-onset
diabetes, often associated with obesity, costs Europe 28 billion and 53
billion euros a year, says the International Diabetes Federation, which
issued the guideline today. It estimates more than 25 million Europeans
already suffer from it, and the rate of growth is reaching “epidemic”
levels.
The IDF says diabetes is now one of
the leading causes of death through its effects on cardiovascular disease:
70-80% of people with diabetes die of cardiovascular disease. Diabetes is
also a leading cause of blindness, renal failure and lower limb amputation,
with type 2 diabetes accounting for 85-95% of cases of diabetes.
Professor Philip Home, joint chair of
the IDF task force on clinical guidelines, says "Estimations and
projections all concur that the number of people with diabetes which may be
reached in the next 25 years would qualify as the largest epidemic humanity
has ever experienced.”
The Global Guideline recommends
maintaining blood glucose levels below 6.5% to minimise the risk of
complications. The evidence shows that a 1.0% cut in HbA1c is associated
with a 37% reduction in microvascular complications. But two-thirds of
people with diabetes in Europe are not achieving target blood sugar levels.
The Global Guideline is available
from the IDF website (www.idf.org/bookshop).
Nutrition
Mum’s the word at RRI
Every pregnant woman knows that what
she eats affects her child, but now four scientists from Aberdeen’s Rowett
Research Institute are to spend over £500,000 proving it.
Funding comes from a 13.4 million
euro European research project to investigate the mechanisms underlying how
a mother’s diet can affect the subsequent health and well-being of her
child.
Harry McArdle, who is leading RRI’s
role in the European-funded project, says “The phrase ‘you are what your
Mum ate’ seems to pop-up all over the place, but we know almost nothing
about the mechanisms underlying this phenomenon. This is an area of
nutrition which is practically still in the dark ages.”
“If we can clarify some of the
underlying mechanisms, we will be able to give much improved advice about
diet during pregnancy, which in turn will have significant benefits for
health in adulthood,” said Professor McArdle.
The so-called EARNEST five-year
project involves 40 partners in 16 countries in Europe. The funding comes
from the Food Quality and Safety Priority of the Sixth Framework Programme
for Research and Technical Development of the European Community.
The www.metabolic-programming.org
website has more.
Security
Value chain under lock & key
A US security consulting firm is
offering to advise on how to safeguard your product value chain from raw
materials to the consumer’s hand.
Vance, a Washington, DC-based firm
says its Product Integrity service helps firms protect against threats such
as counterfeiting, grey marketing and product tampering, all of which can
destroy both the manufacturer and the product’s reputation.
"Risks range from things like
counterfeit drugs being sold on the Internet to mishandling of products
during the shipping process," says Vance president Drew Ladau. Vance
has 3700 staff and offices in the Americas, Europe and the Middle East.
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