RESUMEN
Diabetes is one of the most common and major chronic diseases of the 21[st] century that affect people living in most parts of the world. Global trends suggest that diabetes has more than doubled over the past three decades and is projected to dramatically increase in the coming years. In addition to the clinical burden associated with the disease, diabetes has emerged as a global public health challenge. Most challenging is the shift in the disease paradigm from mainly being a disease of older ages to increasingly affecting children, adolescents, and young adults. Specifically, type 2 diabetes mellitus [T2DM], by far the most prevalent form of diabetes, and prediabetes, a high-risk state for developing T2DM, are rapidly emerging among the youth. Despite the magnitude of the epidemic and its consequences for individuals, their families, and society as a whole, the global response to diabetes as a public health threat has been slow. Today, many countries have still not been able, or seen fit, to put in place the type of national prevention and mitigation strategies or programs that are needed to deal with the growing challenge. To this end, the history, pathophysiology, epidemiology, and global trends of diabetes are discussed in this review. Moreover, the rising epidemic of T2DM and prediabetes among the youth and its risk factors, consequences, and prevention strategies are discussed
RESUMEN
The Kuwait National Programme for Healthy Living is an initiative to promote the health and well-being for individuals residing in the country. The plan has been created based on current data and available information pertaining to the various lifestyles of the populations living in Kuwait and their impact on health in general and chronic diseases in particular. Leading a healthy lifestyle is important because it means living in an environment, such as the Kuwaiti society, where chronic conditions such as obesity, diabetes, hypertension and coronary heart diseases are significantly reduced. Several factors regarding lifestyles among the various ethnic groups residing in Kuwait have been identified, including inactivity resulting from the lack of need for physical exertion in daily-life activities and social rituals involving the serving of food amongst the various ethnic groups residing in Kuwait. For Kuwaitis and other ethnicities as well, traditional social gatherings include serving food as an integral element of the social ritual.The environments of school and workalso contribute to an individual's lifestyle. The goal of the programme is to address the contribution of lifestyle choices and the social environment to health with the goal of creating a healthy environment that will sustain good health and social well-being. This can be accomplished by involving the various stakeholders in promoting the aim of the programme. Finally, addressing the research needs for healthy lifestyle issues can have a huge impact on the outcome of the programmes designed and would aid in creating a healthy living environment