Not surprisingly, “rates of obesity and diabetes are rising across England, although people are living longer than ever,” according to a recent study issued by the English government.

England follows the same trend as most developed countries around the world these days, making diabetes research, education and treatment a global priority.

Read more about the study in the BBC web site: http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/health/7056293.stm

If you have diabetes and live in the UK, make sure to join TuDiabetes.com, a social network for people touched by diabetes. There is a growing number of diabetics from the UK among the members.

A cool little project has popped up called Diabetes365. Originally started by Beth of insearchofbalance.wordpress.com, other diabetes bloggers like Bernard of www.bernardfarrell.com have joined in too.

What is Diabetes365? In Bernards words:

“Diabetes365 is an idea that I got from Beth of insearchofbalance. She started her Diabetes365 photo project a few days ago and I couldn’t think of a better way to inform people of what it’s like to live with diabetes 365 days a year.

The idea behind this Diabetes365 project is that I’ll take one picture every day of the year. I’ll post it to the flickr Diabetes365 pool and blog about it briefly.

Would you like to take part in Diabetes365? You can join the flickr pool provided that you post a picture there each day (or wait a few days and post several pictures, one per day). Each picture must be tagged with diabetes365 and titled with the date taken and which day of your year of photos it is. If you’d like to blog your photos, feel free to do that also.”

Are you part of flickr and want to find out more? Go to the Diabetes365 Project Flickr Group or check out his first post.

The best diabetes social networking site out there, TuDiabetes.com, is now over 1000 strong!

They also released numerous updates to the software to add better features and user collaboration/tracking.

On TuDiabetes you can find and be friends with diabetics from all over the world, interact in groups and message forums, add video’s/photos, take part in the integrated chat room and a ton more!

If you haven’t been there yet, head on over to http://tudiabetes.com/ now and check it out. You’ll be meeting amazing people in no time

It is really an excellent way to get additional diabetic support, increase your own diabetes awareness and get answers to diabetes related questions. Congratulations Manny!

With Health 2.0 Conf behind us, we just have to say that we had a blast and have to thank Matthew and Indu for putting on such a great production.

Our only regret is that it was a bit short (one day) but the info, networking and overall energy was amazing. We want to thank all of you who came and that we were able to talk to.

We’re positive many fruitful initiatives will come out of the relationships made at Health 2.0. Hopefully next time we’ll have at least 2 days or at least a 2nd day just for un-conference networking.

Here is a pretty good video overview of the conference with some interviews by the icyou.com team:

Thanks again to everyone who we met and who was able to come out and make the conference. We look forward to seeing you all next time too

Apparently so, according to this new study:
http://www.ivanhoe.com/channels/p_channelstory.cfm?storyid=17125

“While it is believed the development of type-1 diabetes has some hereditary influences, research also suggests environmental factors—including diet—play a role. Researchers from The Barbara Davis Center for Childhood Diabetes in Aurora, Colo. report a diet high in omega-3 fatty acids may be associated with a decreased risk of pancreatic islet autoimmunity, a condition associated with the development of type-1 diabetes.”

We’ll be at the Health 2.0 Conference on September 20th in San Fran, if you’re also going we’d love to meet you.

It will definitely be a jam-packed day, there is plenty on the agenda. If you’ll be at the conference or in the area and would like to get together feel free to drop an email to: info@sugarstats.com

Surprised? Hardly…

“A new study released Thursday suggests sodas sweetened with high fructose corn syrup may contribute to the development of diabetes. The study from researchers at Rutgers University, shows sodas sweetened with high fructose corn syrup contain high levels of compounds that previous research suggests may play a role in the development of diabetes. Especially when consumed in large amounts.”

Make sure to digg the story:
http://digg.com/health/Study_Links_Diabetes_and_High_Fructose_Corn_Syrup_Found_in_Soda

It is not often that diabetes gets so much attention in Digg.

To discuss, visit TuDiabetes.com: http://tudiabetes.com/forum/topic/show?id=583967%3ATopic%3A34478

The New York Times has posted a very interesting 4-page article I think is worth takin a look at. It goes into the dangers of neglecting the other important factors for surviving diabetes, such as cholesterol.

They showcase a story of a man who was only concerned with his glucose levels and pretty much neglected everything else but ended up paying the price with a stroke. There is also a video up.

“Nearly 73,000 Americans die from diabetes annually, more than from any disease except heart disease, cancer, stroke and pulmonary disease.

Yet, largely because of a misunderstanding of the proper treatment, most patients are not doing even close to what they should to protect themselves. In fact, according to the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, just 7 percent are getting all the treatments they need.”

Take a look: Looking Past Blood Sugar to Survive with Diabetes