As a country develops, its people usually enjoy better health care, drink cleaner water and have more food. However, people’s lifestyle is changing at the same time. They have busier lives. They eat more processed food which has more fat, salt and sugar. As a result, the number of people with certain illnesses is increasing.
Diabetes (糖尿病) is an illness that has become more common. According to the WHO, the number of diabetes patients in the world rose by nearly 4% from 1980 to 2014. And the number is still rising.
In the past, diabetes was more common in rich countries. However, in recent years, the number has been rising more rapidly in developing countries. Take China for example, in 1980, less than 1% of the population in China had diabetes, but now more than one in ten Chinese over 18 have diabetes.
It is possible to control diabetes with medicine, but there is no cure. There are things, however, that people can do to avoid it. If they are overweight, they should try to lose weight. They can avoid food high in fat and sugar. They can also exercise often. Besides, they should walk or ride bikes more instead of travelling by car. If all of us change our lifestyle into a healthier one, we may be able to stop the rise in diabetes in the future.
【小题1】Eating food with more fat, salt and sugar will cause certain illnesses.【小题2】The number of diabetes patients has stopped rising.
【小题3】There are more and more diabetes patients in China.
【小题4】Diabetes can be cured with medicine.
【小题5】The healthier lifestyle we choose, the fewer diabetes patients there will be.
