DIABETES is fast becoming widespread due to increased consumption of junk foods and prevalence of obesity, Professor Augustine Ohwovoriohe, a consultant with the Department of Medicine, Lagos University Teaching Hospital (LUTTH), Lagos has said.

According to him, the disease has become the sixth leading cause of deaths in Nigeria and the third leading cause of death worldwide.

He said that majority of those who have diabetes are ignorant, thus unaware of it, adding that over 60 per cent of Nigerians are diagnosed with the disease every month.

Diabetes, he explained, is a disease in which the body can no longer regulate the amount of glucose in the blood; thereby making the blood glucose rise above normal. He described diabetes as a life incapacitating disease.

"Most of the food we eat is converted into glucose, or sucrose sugar as a form of energy for our body." "The pancreas, an organ that lies close to the stomach produces insulin, a hormone that aids the absorption of glucose into the cells and also lowers the level of glucose in the blood," he said.

Prof. Ohwovorioho said diabetes starts when the pancreas is unable to produce enough insulin to lower the blood sugar.

He said that the World Health Organisation (WHO) recognises three types of diabetes namely type one, type two and gestational diabetes.

Type one diabetes is also called juvenile diabetes.

Type two diabetes is the most common and is seen more in older people from age 45 years upwards.

"In type two, it is either the body does not produce enough insulin for the cells to absorb the glucose or there is an insulin resistance in target tissues. It makes glucose to build up in the blood instead of going into the cells. In the end, the high blood glucose may hart the eyes and kidneys.

Gestational diabetes is a form of diabetes that occurs during the second half of pregnancy, adding that it goes after delivery.

"Women having this type of diabetes are more likely to develop the type two later in life. In gestational diabetes, the hormones from the placenta block the action of the insulin in the mother's body. Gestational diabetes therefore starts when the body is not able to make and use all the insulin it needs for pregnancy," he said.

Some of the symptoms of diabetes, he said, are frequent urination, excessive thirst, unexplained weight loss, extreme hunger, sudden vision change, tingling or numbness in hand or feet, feeling tired much of the time, very dry skin, sores that are slow to heal and more infections than usual.

Onyung said diabetes can lead to hyperglycemia-high blood glucose, cardiovascular (heart) disease, chronic renal (kidney) failure, retinal (eye) damage, nerve damage, micro vascular damage and gangrene.

As a form of prevention and management, he said, the risk of developing type two may be prevented through observing regular exercise, maintaining ideal body weight, making healthy food choices and avoiding sedentary lifestyle.