8 April 2016 12:59 am Views - 2678
The WHO issued its first global report on diabetes and the figures were blood curdling. It revealed that 422 million adults are afflicted with diabetes, mainly in developing countries—a four-fold increase from the 1980 figure. Factors driving this dramatic rise include overweight and obesity.
April 17 is celebrated as World Health Day to mark the WHO’s founding in 1948. This year with the diabetes threat exploding into a horror and hidden terror the WHO decided to make the awareness and battle against it as the theme and thrust for the year. Highlighting the need to step up prevention and treatment of this largely self-inflicted epidemic, WHO says the health promoting environments will reduce risk factors. Among the measures recommended are steps to halt the trend towards physical inactivity and unhealthy diets.
“If we are to make headway in halting the rise in diabetes, we need to re-think our daily lives: to eat healthily, be physically active, and avoid excessive weight gain,” says WHO’s Director-General Margaret Chan.
Among the key findings from the WHO’s global report on diabetes are that the epidemic has major health and socio-economic impacts, especially in developing countries. In 2014, more than 1 in 3 adults aged more than 18 were overweight and more than one in 10 were obese.The complications of diabetes can lead to heart attack, stroke, blindness, kidney failure and lower limb amputation. For example, rates of lower limb amputation are 10 to 20 times higher for people with diabetes.
Diabetes caused 1.5 million deaths in 2012. Higher-than-optimal blood glucose caused an additional 2.2 million deaths by increasing the risks of cardio-vascular and other diseases.
Many of these deaths or 43 percent occur prematurely, before the age of 70 years, and are largely preventable through adoption of policies to create supportive environments for healthy lifestyles and better detection and treatment of the disease.Good management includes use of a small set of generic medicines; interventions to promote healthy lifestyles; patient education to facilitate self-care; and regular screening for early detection and treatment of complications.
What is the situation in Sri Lanka? As bad as in the rest of the world. According to figures compiled by the Diabetes Association of Sri Lanka the number of cases has increased from 16% in 2009 to 20% or a horrifying 4.4 million people in 2014. Family history, unhealthy diet and obesity are the main causes for the increase of diabetes among adults while overweight and lack of exercise are the main causes among children.
WHO Country Representative, Dr. Jacob Kumareshan says that parents and health authorities need to ensure that children get healthy food and drinks which are affordable. Organic food should not be three times more expensive.
investigations have revealed that mainly in city and urban areas the morning pressure is so high that parents often do not have the time or the commitment to give their children a nourishing and non-fattening breakfast like gram, cowpea or green gram. Most middle class children are given buns or pastries while the richer parents allow children to go for hamburgers, hot-dogs or doughnuts which are tasty and popular but are sandwiched with questions as to whether they are healthy. People friendly nutritionists say most parents also have got used to this fast food culture unaware that they are dragging their children into the jaws of a silent killer.
If advice is not so important for parents then the stark reality should bring about a change in mind set because most people appear to have been mentally colonised by western values which have produced a 50 percent obesity rate in the United States. Here in Sri Lanka a shocking number of about 625,000 children are known to be suffering from diabetes. Unless immediate and effective action is not initiated for a turnaround our next generation may grow up to be so unhealthy and it is possible they may die before their parents.