Tianjin and Shanghai join Cities Changing Diabetes on World Diabetes Day

The two cities are the first Chinese cities to join the initiative, joining Houston, Texas, which joined the imitative earlier this month, along with Mexico City and Copenhagen, both of which joined earlier this year.

The Tianjin Medical Association and the Shanghai Diabetes Institute will lead the initial research for Cities Changing Diabetes in collaboration with David Napier, Professor of Medical Anthropology at UCL and Director of the university's Science, Medicine and Society Network. He has designed the research framework for the programme, facilitated by UCL Consultants. UCL is the global academic partner for the programme.

The aim of Cities Changing Diabetes is to map the problem in selected urban areas, to share learning and solutions and to drive action to fight the diabetes challenge in cities across the world. The programme seeks to understand the root causes behind the rise in Type 2 diabetes in cities and use that knowledge to share and recommend effective interventions. Today, nearly two-thirds of all people with diabetes live in cities, and people who move to cities have a significantly higher risk of developing type 2 diabetes than those who remain in rural settings.

"The Cities Changing Diabetes partnership will provide a solid foundation for identifying future initiatives of high impact to tackle urban diabetes in Shanghai" said Professor Jia Weiping of the Shanghai Diabetes institute.

"I am confident the city of Tianjin will benefit significantly in the fight against type 2 diabetes by participating in Cities Changing Diabetes" added Mr. Xiong Zhi, Secretary General of the Tianjin Medical Association.