Lack of awareness increases number of young diabetics in country

ISLAMABAD, Nov 14 (APP):Symptoms of diabetes should not be ignored at early stage as lack of awareness plays major role behind the increasing number of young diabetic patients in Pakistan said health experts on the occasion of World Diabetes Day.

Talking to a private news channel Dr Shazia Ahmed emphasized that people must leave the lethargic life style, avoid junk food and shun the bad eating habits to keep this chronic disease at bay, main factor this disease is lack of exercise, she added.

She said the overall prevalence of diabetes in Pakistan is 19pc, and more than 522 million people are currently living with diabetes around the world.

The increased number of patients of this disease is alarming as it could fail the function of other body organs, type 1 diabetes is not preventable as it does not allow body to produce enough insulin or does not make it good use of it so the patient has to get insulin injection, she stated.

“Diabetes is a leading cause of heart disease, stroke, blindness, kidney failure, and lower limb amputation. One in every two people currently living with diabetes is undiagnosed. Early diagnosis and treatment are key elements to prevent the complications of diabetes and achieve healthy outcomes,” said Naveed Alam another doctor endocrinologist.

The elements to avoid this fatal disease are regular exercise, healthy food, drinking lots of water, morning walk , adding perhaps most people do not know about a study that says a handful of nuts instead of a muffin could help Type 2 diabetes patients to control their blood sugar levels and lower bad cholesterol, he shared.

Cheena Shaapra a social worker and dress designer while narrating her own story said her two of the three children were diagnosed with type 2 diabetes at very early age.

“My both children were under 10 years of age when diagnosed with diabetes, I had no idea how to handle that situation though my eldest child told me about irregular urine and dry mouth every now and then but I thought it might be for some other reasons and ignored it,” she said.

She complained of joints pain and itching, then one day she was fainted due to high sugar level in blood, she said.

Parents should monitor and trace every single change of habit in their children as it could help them in early diagnosing of any disease, sugar is a silent killer, she added.

“Since then I started a campaign to spread awareness among public against diabetes,” she mentioned.

People should not provide processed food of any type, white rice flour, packed juices and chips as these items could put children’s health on risk, she advised.