Acıbadem Kayseri Hospital Endocrinology and Metabolic Diseases Specialist Dr. Esra Karakaş said that the changing lifestyle reduces the age of onset of diabetes and said, “Sedentary lifestyle and fastfood foods cause diabetes in young people.”
Stating that diabetes is essentially a vascular disease and that it has an effect on all organs that the vessels pass through, Dr. Esra Karakaş said, “Diabetes is characterized by high blood sugar. In diabetic patients, some problems occur in the production of insulin by the pancreas and blood sugar rises in the person. In essence, diabetes is a vascular disease. It occurs with excess sugar in the blood circulating in the veins. The vessel wall becomes inflamed and related problems occur. As a result, with the deterioration of the vessel, problems may arise in every organ where the vessel passes from the kidney to the heart.”
“Excess weight can disrupt the body mechanism”
Emphasizing that symptoms include drinking a lot of water, urinating a lot, involuntary weight loss, weight loss despite overeating, dry mouth, fatigue, frequent urination at night, cramps and blurred vision, Dr. Esra Karakaş continued her words as follows:
“People who notice these symptoms should consult a specialist, especially to have their blood sugar measured. Diabetes is unfortunately a very common disease in our country. In the past, we used to see it more frequently in the middle age group, but recently it has started to be seen more frequently in young people. This is probably due to increased inactivity, screen addiction and fast food consumption, consumption of more calorie-dense foods, unconscious carbohydrate consumption and excessive consumption of foods with additives, which we call junk food, cause a disproportionate increase in blood sugar. Changes in lifestyle and inactivity lead to more weight gain and the accumulation of more adipose tissue. As a result of the accumulation of adipose tissue, some mechanisms such as insulin resistance in the body can be disrupted.”
“It also occurs in people without a family history”
Karakaş said that the disease is normally more related to family history, but in recent years, it has started to be seen frequently in young people independently of the family, “Insulin resistance causes blood sugar to rise over time. It is especially more risky for people with a family history of diabetes. But in recent years, we see that the incidence of diabetes has also increased in people without a family history. The reason for this is thought to be the changing lifestyle, consumption of foods with additives and inactivity. When we look at the risk groups in terms of diabetes, patients with a family history of diabetes, individuals with high cholesterol, hypertension, polycystic ovary syndrome and those who are overweight should be more careful. Apart from these factors, diabetes can also be seen frequently in patients who use drugs that increase blood sugar.”
“There are 2 types of diabetes”
Stating that there are two types of diabetes, Type 1 and Type 2, Dr. Karakaş said, “Type 2 is a more common type of diabetes. We see it more in the 30-40 age group, but in recent years, type 2 diabetes has started to be seen in young people. While type 1 diabetes is mostly caused by insulin deficiency, type 2 diabetes develops mostly on the basis of insulin resistance. The only treatment for type 1 diabetes is insulin, absolute insulin deficiency develops. In type 2 diabetes, we use more drug treatments.”
Pointing out that the frequency of diabetes increases in people with a family history of diabetes as well as in people with diseases such as hypertension and hyper lipidemia, Dr. Karakaş continued his words as follows:
“In addition to a certain genetic background, diabetes can also be seen more frequently in people living in certain geographical regions. For example, while type 1 diabetes is more common in Finland, type 2 diabetes is more common with obesity in countries like our country where the prevalence of obesity is increasing. In fact, unfortunately, it is currently the country with the highest incidence of diabetes in Europe. One of the most important reasons for this is inactivity with the changing lifestyle, the introduction of more ready-to-eat foods into our lives and the intensive consumption of carbohydrates such as bread and pastry.”
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