World Health Day 2016: How to Tackle Diabetes Before it Happens

An initiative of the World Health Organisation, World Health Day is celebrated on 7th April to spread awareness about global health issues. It is observed by all member states of the World Health Organization (WHO). Each year it rolls out a new campaign and engages people all across the world. Last year, the focus was on food safety. The goal of World Health Day 2016 is to scale up diabetes prevention, strengthen care, and enhance surveillance.

The Alarming Incidence of Diabetes in IndiaIndia leads the diabetes epidemic in the world with an estimated 66.5 million people living with diabetes. Studies have shown that not only is a significant proportion of our population IS predisposed to diabetes, on an average diabetes in Indians sets in at least 10-15 years prior compared to individuals of most other countries. The treatment for diabetes is lifelong, so it is best to adopt preventive measures earlier and save yourself the hassle of taking medication later. Through simple lifestyle changes, you can reduce the risk of developing diabetes and can even reverse it in the early stages.

With the rising income levels among urban Indians, there is a corresponding decline in health. Factors such as urbanization, increment in wealth, higher anxiety levels, inactive lifestyles, no or little exercise, excessive consumption of calorie-rich foods and inadequate nourishment, are the main reasons for high incidence of diabetes cases in India. Together, these variables lead to obesity and excessive weight gain. While majority of the diabetes patients in India are middle-aged, the onset of the disease begins at a much younger age.

What puts us at risk Being overweight causes insulin resistance and makes it difficult for the body to maintain appropriate blood glucose levels. As obesity and diabetes are interlinked, health experts have created the term "Diabesity". Several studies indicate that obese individuals are up to 80 times more prone to get Type 2 diabetes than those whose body mass index (BMI) is under 22. Other than obesity, genetic pre-disposition is another major factor that increases the risk of developing diabetes. There is a 15 per cent possibility of getting diabetes if either of the parents is diabetic and this probability increases to an alarming 75 per cent if both parents are diabetic.

Keep a check on the common symptoms A surprisingly large number of people are unaware that they are diabetic. A lot of them do not know of the common symptoms and as a result do not get diagnosed on time. Watch out for the common warning signs of diabetes such as frequent urination, increased hunger and thirst, unexplained weight loss and blurred vision. Delayed detection of diabetes can lead to serious complications such as kidney damage, nerve damage and cardiovascular diseases.

Controlling diabetes before it sets in Pre-diabetes is a condition when glucose levels are higher than normal, but not high enough to fall in the diabetes range. Pre-diabetes can be detected through a simple blood test and if your glucose levels indicate you are borderline diabetic, it should serve as a red flag that you need to take immediate action to avoid the condition from progressing.Begin by making the following simple lifestyle changes -

sources - http://food.ndtv.com/health/world-health-day-2016-how-to-tackle-diabetes-before-it-happens-1295014