EU calls for action to prevent diabetes

Diabetes, a potentially fatal disease that is constantly and dramatically increasing, would reach epidemic proportions without making headlines, said European Commissioner for Health and Food Safety Vytenis Andriukaitis on Thursday.

A statement by Andriukaitis was made on the occasion of World Health Day, carrying the theme of diabetes awareness this year.

"It is now time to put the evidence into practice. My deepest wish is to see a radical shift from treatment of diseases towards promotion of good health," urged the commissioner.

Currently in the European Union (EU), 32 million people are living with diabetes. Furthermore, one in five school children is obese or overweight already, a major risk factor for developing type two diabetes, with the number on the rise.

The silver lining is that in many cases, type two diabetes is preventable and in some cases it is also possible to reverse it.

Experience has shown that simple changes in lifestyle, including maintaining a normal weight, regular physical exercise and a healthy diet, can be effective in preventing or delaying type two diabetes.

Andriukaitis called for all policy tools, from education to awareness campaigns and from advertising to taxation, should be mobilized.

Measures to trigger and accompany these changes should particularly focus on the younger generation and on providing healthy food in schools, replacing vending machines selling sweets or sugary drinks in schools with healthy alternatives, and making food low in salt, sugar and fat available and affordable for all, said the commissioner.

As for type one diabetes, actions to improve the lives of people living with diabetes could include the further development of eHealth solutions enabling diabetic patients to monitor their own blood glucose and transmit the information electronically to their healthcare specialist.

More broadly, increasing patient access to quality care across Europe and supporting research for finding new and more effective treatments would remain key objectives of health policy, Andriukaitis said.