SMASHED ON SCIENCE
The debut of the ‘Pint of Science‘ festival recently took over Exeter pubs, and Exeposé Science and Tech are here to give you the best bits, and fill you in on what you may have missed.
Solene Long provides a short snippet from the presentation “Diabetes: Islands of Hope”,
hosted by Prof. Noel Morgan at The Rusty Bike.
Surprisingly, the life-changing disease type 2 diabetes has an evolutionary
purpose – up to about three generations ago, it could be seen as a survival
advantage, enabling energy storage in case of famine. But in our society of
relative plenty, diabetes has no such positive effect, with one diabetic patient
dying every 10 seconds.
One of the major problems in treating this illness is the difficulty patients have in following treatment. Only 51% are likely to follow physician’s advice regarding diet, and only 40% will increase exercise, with a common excuse for not
exercising more being “I find it very difficult to make changes to the way I live” (Dr Strain, Exeter Medical School).
But this disease is preventable, and weight reduction can decrease the risk by 58%. Taking positive steps to control one’s health is also important in other diseases, including cardiovascular diseases.
Current research in Exeter is revealing just how important high intensity exercise is in reducing the damage of blood vessels. This is particularly
important in children, with guidelines recommending a minimum of 60 minutes exercise a day.
Data suggests that in 11-15 year olds, this is achieved by 7% of boys and <1 % of girls. CVD being the leading cause of death in the UK, it is essential to never forget the importance of exercise, no matter how much exam stress you are under!
Solene Long
For more of our ‘Pint of Science’ articles (Smashed on Science), click here!