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PAHO: World Diabetes Day 2017 - Obesity, a
key driver of diabetes

World Diabetes Day 2017
Obesity, a key driver of diabetes
In the Region of the Americas, the rate of adult obesity is more than double the world average,
with women more affected than men. Halting the advance of this condition through policies and
healthy lifestyles can prevent future cases of diabetes.
Washington, D.C., 13 November 2017 (PAHO/WHO) - Obesity is one of the main risk factors for
diabetes. In the Americas, the percentage of adults who are obese is more than twice the world
average, with more women affected than men. Healthy eating and an active lifestyle can help
prevent or even reverse obesity, in turn preventing the onset of diabetes or helping to control it.
Diabetes is a progressive chronic disease characterized by high blood glucose levels. Type 2
diabetes—responsible for the majority of cases worldwide, and largely attributable to excessive
bodyweight and physical inactivity—is increasing rapidly throughout the world. The number of
people in the Americas with this disease has tripled since 1980.
Some 62 million adults in the Americas were living with type 2 diabetes and approximately
305,000 died from the disease in 2014, the latest year for which figures are available. Unless
measures are taken to address the problem, it is estimated that by 2040 there will be over 100
million adults with diabetes, with adverse effects on quality of life that include heart attack,