Diabetes can be controlled with medication and changes in lifestyle

According to the World Health Organization, the disease has already reached 7.4% of Brazilians, about 14 million people



The civil police Reinaldo Leal, 42, has always been the biggest glutton among friends. "Ih, Reinaldo will eat 20 pieces," playing when they went to a pizza rodizio. But in 2010, Leal life underwent a drastic change. Realizing that he had lost 20 kilos and that the feeling of sleep and constant thirst was far beyond the ordinary, made examination to check the glucose content (sugar) in the body. The result should be a maximum of around 125 mg / dl (milligrams per deciliter), exhibited a much larger number: 500 mg / dL.

Leal discovered diabetes, now affects 8.5% of the adult population in the world, equivalent to 422 million people, according to the World Health Organization (WHO). In Brazil, diabetic rate reaches 7.4% (14 million people). The police embodies the profile of the victims "favorite" of the disease: men over 40, overweight and sedentary. The study showed that the share of men with diabetes increased from 4.3% in 1980 to 9% in 2014. Since the population of diabetic women was 5% to 7.8%.

The disease can develop in people of any age. But the likelihood of manifest after 40 years is much higher. The superlative growth in the number of diabetics worldwide - four times higher than it was in 1980 - can be understood as a reflection of eating habits, very grounded in the consumption of fats, carbohydrates and processed foods.