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Do you indulge your sweet tooth, love high calorie fatty foods, dislike fruit and veggies and aren't too fond of exercise?
Your kind of lifestyle kills 37 out of every 100 South Africans.

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Horror statistics
These horror statistics were brought home by Johannesburg-based dietician Anne Till who said: "As a nation, we are far too inactive, and are rapidly eating our way to chronic disease and eventual death. We are digging our graves with our knives and forks!"

Mrs Till, addressing doctors, nutritionists and dieticians at the Nutrition Congress in Port Elizabeth this week, was referring to a health problem affecting between 16 to 25% of the global population - insulin resistance and associated diseases.

The four-day congress is being held on behalf of the Nutrition Society of South Africa and the Association of Dietetics of South Africa.

No getting away with bad eating habits
If you think you can get away with bad eating habits forever, think again. Even with good genes, there is at least a 50% risk of becoming ill if you live and eat badly.

"While genes can play a role in this problem, it is how we live our lives that ultimately causes the metabolic problem of insulin resistance to develop" said Mrs Till, who heads the largest dietetic practice in South Africa.

"Some risk factors include being over 40 years of age, being born at a low birth weight (less than 2500g), high stress levels, smoking, a family history of diabetes, high blood pressure or coronary heart disease, excess body fat weight especially around the waistline, physical inactivity and a poor diet.

The risk of insulin resistance
“Through years of bad eating and inactivity, you run the risk of developing insulin resistance, which alters your body’s ability to metabolise carbohydrates, including sugars. This carbohydrate metabolism problem, if undetected and left unmanaged, can lead over time to an increased risk for chronic diseases such as type II diabetes, coronary heart disease, high blood pressure, stroke and even cancer,” said Mrs Till.

But the good news is that if insulin resistance is detected early enough it can be corrected by eating more delicious fruit, veggies and whole grains and getting more exercise.

It is estimated that approximately 50% of people with high blood pressure have insulin resistance, 60% of people with coronary heart disease, 40% of people with gout, and 90% of people with type II diabetes, to name a few conditions.

When a number of abnormalities associated with insulin resistance are found together one is said to have insulin resistance syndrome or metabolic syndrome, which is associated with an even greater risk of developing coronary heart disease and / or type II diabetes.

“Our modern-day diet tends to promote the consumption of the wrong types of fat (hard fat) and carbohydrate, and further excessive intakes of fat, sugars and refined starch,” she said.

Adapted from a press release issued by Bay Public Relations

- Health24, September 2006

Insulin resistance health risks
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