--- In [email protected], "card" <cardemaister@...> wrote: > > ...decrease the risk of diabetes??
Having written several articles on the worldwide diabetes epidemic lately, I seriously doubt it. The only component of "yogic flying" that would fall into known risk-reducing categories would be the five minutes or so of exercise gained from using one's muscles to bounce around. That *would* be an advantage to those who lead an otherwise sedentary lifestyle (one of the biggest risk factors for Type 2 diabetes), but a greater effect would be seen from just walking 20 minutes per day. BTW, the country with the highest percentage of diabetes on the planet is India. An estimated 11% to 20% of India's urban population has diabetes, and 3% to 5% of the adult rural population has the disease. Estimates from the World Health Organization say that the disease currently costs India about $250 billion per year, and that in the next ten years this figure will skyrocket to $335 billion. The worst part is that these figures can only continue to skyrocket. This is partly due to cultural differences (what is seen as "fat" in the US is seen as "normal" or even "desired" in much of India), genetic predisposition, and the adoption of an unhealthy American lifestyle (lots of nutrition-free fast foods and less and less exercise) that make India the population most at risk from diabetes. What is worst is who is being affected. In the West, the onset of Type 2 diabetes is most commonly seen in adults in their 40s and 50s. In India, it's affecting people in their early to mid 20s. According to the International Journal of Diabetes in Developing Countries, the alarming increase in diabetes in India "has gone beyond epidemic form to a pandemic one."
