Let’s Beat Diabetes Together!
India under the Weight of Diabetes!
Diabetes…famously known as the “Sugar Ki Bimari” in our country has become a very normal word like accident, pollution, or corruption. We see news about deaths due to accidents, pollution, or maybe even corruption, but we never see news of deaths due to lack of diabetes control. This is because it is a silent killer that can enter your house anytime!
For us, diabetes is abstaining from sugar in coffee or tea, and avoiding sweets. Even this, we do not take it seriously! “Chodo yaar, aaj Diwali hai,” “Today is my daughter’s fifth birthday! I can have cake,” and the excuses continue.
Though effortshave been made to create awareness among people about the serious nature of diabetes, there are still many people who do not understand diabetes, and do not know how to control it.
Surveys and researches over the years are coming up with shocking numbers of diabetes and prediabetes among people. Diabetes is getting younger,and so are its related complications!
Millions of people are not able to identify symptoms of diabetes and that’s leading to undetected diabetes. This in a course of time becomes uncontrolled diabetes. Uncontrolled diabetes (high blood sugar levels; above 180 mg/dL) leads to numerous painful health complications like heart diseases, kidney failure, eye disease leading to blindness, and foot disease leading to amputation.
It’s Time to Act Now
Do you want to bid goodbye to your goals, ambitions, and aspirations?
Do you want to desert your family?
Look, this is not something intended to make you afraid. This is intended to make you aggressive when it comes to your health.What would you choose? Periodical medical checkups & healthy choices, or expensive hospital bills.
A report published by The Indian Journal of Endocrinology and Metabolism in April 2016 stated that diabetes control among Indians was very poor. And, this was the main reason for diabetes complications. In their study, it was observed that up to 26.8% of participants (of all age groups) had diabetic retinopathy to some extent.
People with uncontrolled diabetes from six months to five years are also prone to have diabetic retinopathy (leading to reduced vision and blindness).
People in the age groups of 40-60 and 60-80 are most prone to diabetic retinopathy, end-stage organ diseases like kidney disease, and heart attack and stroke.
In fact, a Pan India research done by Apollo Sugar Clinics has found that the prevalence of diabetes has increased by leaps and bounds. We have screened over 5, 00,000 people all over India till October 2017, and it was observed that:
1. There are many people with undetected and uncontrolled diabetes.
2. People above 40 are more at risk.
3. More than 24%are known diabetics.
4. 14% of these known diabetics have uncontrolled diabetes (a main cause for heart, kidney, eye, and foot diseases).
5. People with family history of diabetes are three times more vulnerable.
6. People who are overweight, but with no family history of diabetes are at an increased risk.
There are more than 17% of people with some form of chronic kidney disease in India. Added to that, there is a shortage of renal replacement therapy centers in India. On top of it, kidney transplantation is a Herculean task. The only bet is to avoid the damage early on.
As for heart diseases, there is another grim picture awaiting you. There are more than 17.5 million deaths due to cardiovascular diseases in India. 74% of Indians in urban areas are at a risk of cardiovascular diseases. There are around 40 million heart disease patients in India and the number is steadily growing, courtesy diabetes.
So, why do we work, toil all day, and earn? Only to become sick and make our family sick? That’s definitely not the case. There is light at the end of the tunnel, and let’s find it together. Let’s fight Diabetes Together.
First of all, for the young Indians here’s how you prevent diabetes!
1. Get moving. Get enough exercise daily (at least half an hour a day).
2. Take the steps instead of the elevator.
3. If you have a family history of diabetes, get a screening test (after age 30) at least once every six months.
4. Be cautious of what you eat. You can eat your favorite foods, but you have to reduce the quantity.
5. Eat fruit and vegetables.
6. Get adequate sleep.
7. For God’s sake do not smoke.
8. Do not indulge.
9. Do not stress yourself. Try to find ways to relieve stress.
10. Do not indulge in fancy diets.
11. If you are overweight, work toward reducing abdominal fat.
If you already have diabetes, here are ways you can control it
1. Do self-monitoring of blood glucose levels.
2. Follow the diet instructions given by a qualified dietician.
3. Follow your exercise regimen.
4. Be balanced in whatever you do be it eating, or exercising.
5. Never ever miss out on a single dosage of medication.
6. Always get your periodical diagnostic tests done.
7. Take adequate care of your feet. Wear diabetic footwear.
8. Get your Lipid profile, eye tests, HbA1c, and urine tests regularly.
9. Avoid stress and get adequate sleep.
10. Talk to your diabetes educator to get better awareness of diabetes and how to control it.
If you or any of your family members have diabetes, being aware of the condition matters. If you have any queries, please call Apollo Sugar Clinics at 18001031010.
