Scientists in the Philippines have created a new variety of rice that could help reduce the growing burden of diabetes.
More than 537 million adults worldwide live with the chronic disease – a number that is expected to grow to 783 million by 2045. Overweight, genetics and lack of exercise contribute to type 2 diabeteswhich is the most common form. Type 2 occurs when the pancreas does not produce enough of the insulin hormone, and leaves too much glucose the blood, and cells develop a resistance to insulin.
Dr Lindsey Smith Taillie, a nutritional epidemiologist and professor at the University of North Carolina, said: “Global prevalence of diabetes is increasing and becoming a growing cause for concern. It has been high for several decades now in high-income countries, but increasingly we also see rapid increases in low- and middle-income countries.”
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The human toll of non-communicable diseases (NCDs) is high and rising. These diseases end the lives of approximately 41 million of the 56 million people who die each year – and three quarters of them are in the developing world.
NCDs are simply that; unlike, say, a virus, you can’t catch them. Instead, they are caused by a combination of genetic, physiological, environmental and behavioral factors. The main types are cancers, chronic respiratory diseases, diabetes and cardiovascular diseases – heart attacks and strokes. About 80% are preventable, and all are on the rise, spreading inexorably around the world as aging populations and lifestyles driven by economic growth and urbanization make being unhealthy a global phenomenon.
NCDs, once seen as diseases of the rich, now have a grip on the poor. Disease, disability and death are perfectly designed to create and increase inequality – and being poor makes it less likely that you will be accurately diagnosed or treated.
Investment in tackling these common and chronic conditions that kill 71% of us is incredibly low, while the costs to families, economies and communities are staggeringly high.
In low-income countries, NCDs – typically slow and debilitating diseases – see a fraction of the money needed invested or donated. Attention remains focused on the threats of communicable diseases, but cancer death rates have long surpassed the death toll of malaria, TB and HIV/Aids combined.
‘A Common Condition’ is a Guardian series reporting on NCDs in the developing world: their prevalence, the solutions, the causes and consequences, telling the stories of people living with these diseases.
Tracy McVeigh, editor
More than 60% of people with diabetes live in Asia. More than 90% of the world’s rice is produced and consumed in the Asia-Pacific region. White rice has a high glycemic index, which can cause increases in the amount of sugar in the blood. Research shows a connection between significant consumption of rice and non-communicable diseases such as type 2 diabetes and heart disease.
A breakthrough by researchers at the International Rice Research Institute (IRRI) in the Philippine town of Los Baños – working with the University of California, the Max Planck Institute for Molecular Plant Physiology in Germany and Bulgaria’s Center of Plant Systems. Biology – can help tackle it.
Using the IRRI’s extensive rice genebank, the world’s largestresearchers screened 380 seed samples over 10 years to identify genes and markers with a lower glycemic index and higher protein content. They then combined them into “inbred lines,” which the IRRI called a diabetes-friendly, healthier rice option.
Dr Nese Sreenivasulu, the chief scientist at IRRI’s Cereal Quality and Nutrition Centre, said: “We thought that if we could come up with a diet with low glycemic index properties. [and] which can be considered healthier, not only for those who are diabetic and pre-diabetic… then it can be a very good intervention to counter growing incidence [of diabetes].
“It could have a big impact in Asia, as well as in Africa, among the rice-consuming countries,” he said.
The rice has yet to be grown outside IRRI’s laboratories, but Sreenivasulu said the plan was to start growing the new varieties in India and the Philippines as part of IRRI’s mission to fight poverty and hunger in countries where rice is the staple food. . In 2021, it helped to develop golden ricewhich is adapted to alleviate vitamin A deficiencies.
But Taillie warned that sugary drinks and ultra-processed foods are the real diabetes risks, rather than rice. “In general, rice is not the biggest cause for concern when we think about issues like type 2 diabetes,” she said.
“For people who are already living with diabetes and want to incorporate rice into their diet, and are conscientious about reducing carbohydrates, it might be relevant, but it’s certainly not going to help us solve global type 2 diabetes. crisis,” Taillie said.
Instead, she believes countries should focus on introducing taxes on sugar-sweetened drinks and ultra-processed foods, and enforcing better warning labels on packaging.
“The call to action is that we need a comprehensive set of policies that ensure that all people have access to healthy food and that we reduce the relentless marketing and promotion and sales of sugar.”
