Professor Marja-Riitta Taskinen Receives Pohjola and Suomi Mutual Medical Award
(Thomson Reuters ONE) -
Adult-onset diabetes, next decade's killer
Marja-Riitta Taskinen, emerita Professor of internal medicine, has made a long
and successful career in arterial health. The Finnish Medical Foundation has
chosen her as the winner of the Pohjola and Suomi Mutual Medical Award for
2012. The award was first presented in 1981.
As the world and people's living habits change, we not only have heart diseases
to deal with but are also faced with threats to arterial health.
"Obesity is a major problem today. People use electronic media more and more and
in doing so sit more and more, both at work and during their free time. They
exercise less and get more energy than is necessary from their food. Two decades
ago a portion of French fries contained 210 calories, but today the figure is
610," says Professor Taskinen.
Conscripts, for example, are getting steadily heavier and their physical
condition is getting worse. Younger and younger people do less and less
exercise, and only 13 per cent of teenagers exercise for over an hour per day.
More than a fifth of pensioners have exercise of any kind less frequently than
once a week.
Lack of exercise and obesity increase the risk of adult-onset diabetes (that is,
type 2), coronary artery disease and transient ischaemic attacks. Arterial
diseases affect over a million people in Finland, and hundreds of thousands are
at risk of becoming seriously ill.
"Adult-onset diabetes will be a 21(st)-century epidemic all over the world,"
says Professor Taskinen.
Balance between good and bad
An increased amount of cholesterol in the bloodstream is a significant risk
factor in terms of arterial disease, but cholesterol comes in two forms. There
is what is called "bad" cholesterol, that is, low-density lipoprotein (LDL), and
there's the "good" variety, or high-density lipoprotein (HDL), which removes
cholesterol from arterial walls and transports it through the liver out of the
body. Moreover, particles containing plenty of triglycerides carry lipids
obtained from food and those produced by the liver in the bloodstream.
If there are too many LDL particles, cholesterol will accumulate in the arterial
walls, causing atherosclerosis. Modern man has an average LDL cholesterol level
that is many times that of people living in more primitive conditions.
A new threat is posed by low-carb diets that contain large amounts of saturated
fat.
There are effective drugs available for the treatment of high cholesterol and
they should always be taken if arterial disease has already broken out.
"Statins are the most important discovery to improve arterial health. Although
medication can reduce the risk by as much as 40-50 per cent, other risk factors
remain, most importantly a lower HDL content. High triglyceride and low HDL
content are related to obesity and type 2 diabetes," explains Taskinen.
Take a look at your belly
Living habits can have a major effect on arterial disease risk and the
probability of falling ill. The recommendation for obesity treatment and
reduction of arterial disease risk is to have more exercise and a healthy diet.
"The minimum target is at least half an hour of exercise a few days a week, as
even a moderate amount of exercise will halve your diabetes risk, " she
explains.
An easy way to check whether you are in the risk group is measure your waist
circumference, because an apple-shaped body is a clear warning sign. The
recommended upper limit for men is 94 centimetres, and 80 centimetres for women.
As much as 69 per cent of men, however, are over this limit.
Fat not only accumulates around your waist but also in the heart, liver and
abdominal cavity. A fatty liver not only produces triglycerides but also causes
other factors that increase the risk of arterial diseases.
Acclaimed international researcher
Professor Taskinen is one of Finland most internationally acclaimed researchers
being, for example, the first woman and first Finn to receive the Claude Bernard
Award given by the European Association for the Study of Diabetes (EASD). Her
latest accolade was the 2011 award by the Finnish Foundation for Cardiovascular
Research.
She is an Honorary Doctor of the University of Gothenburg. She has also chaired
the European Atherosclerosis Society (EAS) and participated in creating
recommended treatments for fatty-acid metabolism disorders.
She has had over 400 articles published in important international journals and
she is a very sought-after lecturer around the world. Although retired, she
continues her research at medical research and training centre Biomedicum
Helsinki.
She will use the ?20,000 prize money of the Pohjola and Suomi Mutual Medical
Award for her research and, among other things, to help young researchers
participate in international meetings.
Professor Taskinen will hold a lecture titled "Today's Threats to Arterial
Health" when she receives her award at the Finnish Medical Convention 2012 on
10 January 2012. The award will be presented by Jouko Pölönen, Pohjola
Insurance's President, and Jari Sokka, President and CEO of Suomi Mutual.
For more information, please contact:
Professor Marja-Riitta Taskinen, tel. +358 9 4717 1990, marja-
riitta.taskinen(a)helsinki.fi
Anne Lamminpää, Chief Physician at Pohjola Insurance, tel. +358 10 253 2418,
anne.lamminpaa(a)pohjola.fi
Marrja-Riitta Taskinen:
http://hugin.info/142911/R/1574993/490464.JPG
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Source: Pohjola Pankki Oyj via Thomson Reuters ONE
[HUG#1574993]
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Datum: 05.01.2012 - 09:41 Uhr
Sprache: Deutsch
News-ID 101296
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