Alarming figures

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Children in Upper Austria also often struggle with diabetes(Bild: africa-studio.com (Olga Yastremska and Leonid Yastremskiy))

Just as quickly as blood sugar skyrockets after a bar of chocolate, the number of diabetics is also skyrocketing. Between 2020 and 2023, diabetes outpatient clinics in Upper Austria recorded a 38% increase in patients.

"You can clearly see that the frequency is increasing," says Martin Clodi, primary physician at the Barmherzige Brüder in Linz and board member of the Austrian Diabetes Society. The results of a study that Clodi carried out last year at his hospital, the Gmunden Hospital and the Kepler University Hospital are also worrying. For three months, the doctors measured the blood sugar levels of every patient, not just those already diagnosed with diabetes. Findings: "31 percent of people over 60 and 37 percent of people over 70 have manifest diabetes mellitus," explains the primary physician.

Three factors are decisive
According to Clodi, three factors have triggered the almost explosive increase in patients: "We are moving less. In the past 30 years, sedentary time has increased from an average of 25 hours per week to 43 hours. When you move, glucose is metabolized and the whole body can react more to insulin," says the doctor, explaining the connection. The second factor is increasing obesity, and the third development is the ageing of society, because: "The figures increase enormously with age."

What helps?
What helps? "The basis of all prevention is exercise," advises the Primar. "And you should aim to be close to a normal weight."