MacDiabetes

24 July 2010 - The growing popularity of Western junk food is fueling a diabetes boom across Southeast Asia, including in Japan and Hong Kong, There is a whole range of Japanese fast-food chains available, of which Japanese Mos Burger is probably the most popular. Australian researchers warned. Studies found about 11% of men and 12% of women in Vietnam's Ho Chi Minh City had type 2 diabetes without knowing it. In recent years western-style fast-food restaurants have sprung up everywhere in the city. The researchers said that similar results were reported in Thailand, and they feel comfortable to extrapolate similar conclusions for Malaysia, Singapore and Cambodia. Type 2 diabetes, the most common form of the diseases, is caused by high levels of fat and sugar in the diet and a lack of exercise. It can lead to heart disease, vision loss, limb amputation and kidney failure. It is a bit cynical that the disease has picked up in this part of the world, as hunger and poverty are also still rampant.