New website launched to help prevent diabetes spread in Asia

A new diabetes prevention website - the Asian Diabetes Prevention Initiative - has been launched in Asia in an attempt to put a stop to the growing epidemic by providing science-based information about type 2 diabetes.

The website-www.asiandiabetesprevention.org-a joint initiative between the Department of Nutrition at Harvard School of Public Health (HSPH) and Saw Swee Hock School of Public Health (SSHSPH) at the National University of Singapore (NUS), gives the public, health professionals, and public health practitioners quick and easy access to information about the causes of type 2 diabetes, its dire consequences, and what can and must be done to decrease the prevalence of this disease in Asia.

Frank Hu, professor of nutrition and epidemiology at HSPH and co-editorial director of the new website, said that by providing the latest advances in research on epidemiology and state-of-the-art practices for diabetes prevention through lifestyle and environmental changes, this website will raise the public's awareness about this 'silent' epidemic and spur urgent actions to address it.

Created by nutrition experts at HSPH and SSHSPH, including those behind the popular and authoritative websites, The Nutrition Source and The Obesity Prevention, The Asian Diabetes Prevention Initiative website accepts no subsidies or commercial support from any industry, so that it can deliver an unbiased perspective on diabetes prevention.

The website conveys to individuals and communities ways to make better dietary and lifestyle choices and reduce the risk of getting the disease.

Lilian Cheung, director of health promotion and communication in the Department of Nutrition at HSPH and co-editorial director of the new website, said that we need to dispel the prevailing myth that type 2 diabetes is inevitable if it runs in the family.

The scientific evidence is compelling that type 2 diabetes can be prevented and they need to get the message out loud and clear now before the diabetes storm in Asia worsens, she added.