[Real4]

/st/
Diabetes attacking very young people in Vietnam, experts warn

The incidence of diabetes among very young people in Vietnam has increased significantly of late, and the country is among those with the fastest growing rate of patients, an expert says.

Thai Hong Quang, vice chairman of Vietnam Society of Endocrinology and Diabetes, said that patients as young as 11 years old have been found with Type 2 diabetes, the most common form of the disease.

Addressing a press conference on the occasion of the World Diabetes Day, Quang attributed the problem to growing obesity in urban areas.

While the proportion of patients to the total population has climbed from 1.1 percent in 1990 to nearly five percent this year, less than 200 doctors specializing in the diseases are working nationwide, Quang said.
Thank Nein Newspaper

[ramon]

Most likely due to a diet of rice and noodles. Poor kids still suffering from effects of Agent Orange.

[TomB]

Considering when Agent Orange was dispensed (1965 to 1972, I think) - It would be interesting if there was a 2nd generational effect due to Agent Orange. I surely hope not because a lot of us Vietnam Vets have grandchildren who could be at risk. A more likely cause, though, might be the changes in living and diet that the Vietnamese are experiencing. In the old days, Vietnam was mostly farming with people who did a lot of physical labor and few ever got over weight. Now it seems they are becoming more industrialized and urbanized where factory workers might work long hours but are mostly sedentary. Life may have improved to the point where most children now spend hours in school rather than working in the fields. With more TV's their home life probably is more into being a couch potato. Could these changes be a cause of Diabetes? If so, that might also explain why Diabetes has become common in the industrial world. As for Agent Orange, the dioxin in it most probably is at least a catalyst if not a direct cause in itself for Diabetes.
Tally Ho,
Tom