Preventing type 2 diabetes in Malawi

Researchers at the University of Glasgow are collaborating with Malawian scientists to try to find out why some people in Malawi develop type 2 diabetes - even though many are slim and highly active. Worldwide, diabetes is on the rise with almost 400 million people living with the disease - a figure that is predicted to rise to about 600 million in 2035. It's also an expensive disease to treat, accounting for over 10% of worldwide healthcare budgets, with almost £500 billion spent on diabetes worldwide in 2014. A collaborative research project between The University of Glasgow, Malawi Epidemiology and Intervention Research Unit, and the Malawi College of Medicine has received £186,588 from the Global Challenges Research Fund to develop new approaches to prevent type 2 diabetes in Malawi, where death rates from the disease are five times higher than in the UK. A shift from rural to urban living and lifestyle changes mean that non-communicable diseases such as diabetes are emerging as pressing problems in Africa. Jason Gill, Professor of Cardiometabolic Health at the University of Glasgow, is leading the year-long project, which will seek to understand why some people in Malawi are at high risk of developing type 2 diabetes despite not being overweight and being highly physically active - 90% of the population achieve WHO activity guidelines. People in Malawi are not only active but obesity prevalence is still relatively low - although it is rising - with only 2% of men obese and 13% of women.