US heart disease costs to triple by 2030

WASHINGTON - THE costs of treating heart disease in America, where one in three people has some form of the disease, are expected to triple by 2030 due to the growing population, researchers said on Monday.

While current costs of medical care for heart disease are around US$273 billion (S$349.7 billion) per year, that figure will skyrocket to US$818 billion by 2030, the study said.

The findings came from an expert panel that estimated future costs based on current disease rates, and expanded those costs according to projections from US census data about approaching shifts in the population. The researchers assumed that no new discoveries would be made between now and 2030 to stem the tide of heart disease, said the study published in Circulation, a journal of the American Heart Association.

Diabetics to double in 25 years

WASHINGTON - THE number of Americans with diabetes will nearly double over the next 25 years, rising from 23.7 million in 2009 to 44.1 million in 2034, according to a study by the University of Chicago.

In the same period, medical costs associated with treating the disease will triple from US$113 billion (S$158 billion) to US$336 billion, even without a rise in the incidence of obesity, according to the study published in the December issue of Diabetes Care.

The study said its projections, despite being significantly higher than other recent estimates, may be too conservative because they assume the rate of diabetes and obesity, a risk factor for the disease, will remain stable.

In 1991, scientists projected that the number of Americans with diabetes would reach 11.6 million people in 2030, but some 20 years before that date the figure is already double that. The study's authors acknowledge that obesity rates have risen steadily in past years, but predict that they will level out over the next decade and then decline slightly from the current 30 per cent level to around 27 per cent in 2033.

The US health programme Medicare, which provides health care for older Americans, spends some US$45 billion a year on diabetes treatment for 8.2 million people.

By 2034, the number of people with diabetes covered by the program is expected to rise to 14.6 million, according to the study, with associated costs rising to 171 billion dollars a year. -- AFP

Myths about sugar and health

LONDON: Replacing sugar with other sources of carbohydrates does not necessarily make you lose weight, according to a scientific review study.

Busting such misconceptions about the impact of sugars on health, the study observes that what appears more important is the total amount of energy intake, the energy density of the foods and the quality of the diet.

The evidence shows that added sugars do not necessarily compromise a person's intake of micronutrients. The "micronutrient dilution" myth that eating added sugars dilutes the nutrient density of a person's diet appears mostly due to misreporting and methodological constraints.

Finally, although sugar consumption has traditionally been associated with poor dental health, the experts pointed to the importance of the frequency, more than the amount, of consumption of all sugars and fermentable carbohydrates.

Nowadays, for the prevention of tooth decay, the widespread use of fluoridated toothpaste and good oral hygiene play a more important role.

"The results provide a much needed update of the overall scientific evidence on sugars and suggest that new randomised controlled intervention studies of sufficient size and duration are required," said Andreu Palou, who chaired the expert workshop that looked at the current available scientific evidence.

The combined impact of many dietary and lifestyle factors such as physical activity, excessive calorie intake and weight gain, and their interactions, have to be taken into account.

Obesity and low physical activity are causally related to the development of insulin resistance and its progression towards type 2 diabetes.

There is convincing evidence from randomised controlled trials (RCT) that weight loss and moderate physical activity are beneficial in improving insulin sensitivity and preventing type 2 diabetes, said a Comité Européen des Fabricants de Sucre (CEFS) release. CEFS represents all European sugar manufacturers and refiners among European Institutions.