Both type-1 and type-2 diabetes can be prevented or managed. But key to this is to spread this message, writes TSHIDI MAMETSA

More and more people in Mzansi are leading Westernised lifestyles, our eating habits have changed and many people don't get enough exercise, resulting in many of them becoming overweight – which in turn leads to an increased incidence of diabetes.
Kwaito star Tshepo "Howza" Mosese is among the estimated 300m people in the world who have diabetes.
Diagnosed with type-1 diabetes in 2002, Mosese recently launched a music video of his latest song I Choose to Live, which is about the impact of diabetes on the world and the importance of prevention.
Written and performed with fellow artist Omen,the video also features the renowned Soweto Gospel Choir.
"When the initial symptoms of diabetes started hitting me, neither my parents nor I thought it could be the cause. The symptoms are more or less the same as those of HIV, so I was a bit scared, he says.
"This is why awareness and education are so important. This disease can affect people of any age, race or sex but it can be prevented and managed."
Mosese lost weight, became dehydrated and his vision became blurred. "Finding out was a relief," he says.
The scariest thing, he says, was when his doctor told him he had the disease and showed him the stats of people dying from the disease.
"That is what affected me the most and in turn it made me change my lifestyle.
"I never exercised at first and was never a vegetable person, but because of the scare I got I started doing what I had to do to prevent it becoming worse," says the star, who even quit drinking.
"Type-1 diabetes happens when the pancreas is no longer able to produce insulin. The pancreas produces insulin in response to an increased concentration of glucose in the blood and it is vital in controlling blood glucose levels. When a person has diabetes their body cannot control their blood glucose, so they become hyperglycaemic–they have an abnormally high blood glucose level," Mosese explains.
"Treatment involves the injection of insulin to maintain tightly controlled glucose levels at all times."he says.
"I think the key is to communicate that this (disease) can be prevented and managed."
http://m.sundayworld.co.za/(S(kd20me451mbh3ovkxoqokovr))/default.aspx?id=7&articleid=1180583
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