22:05
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Islamabad
Saving our next generation from diabetes needs commitment from all concerned stakeholders, including government, NGOs and media. If proper attention is not given to the issue, it might emerge as a huge disaster for the nation in future.
Head of General Medicine Department at Pakistan Institute of Medical Sciences Professor Dr. Jamal Zafar said this while talking to ‘The News’ in connection with World Diabetes Day observed on Wednesday. He said that the International Diabetes Federation’s World Diabetes Day theme for 2012 is ‘Protect Our Future’ and it is an opportunity for all stakeholders to take serious measures to deal with the problem.
He said that earlier Pakistan was taken as a cirrhotic state, but now it has become a diabetic state with nearly 15 million persons suffering from the disease, of which a great number of patients are unaware of their status, which is more alarming.
He said that recently the Department of Medicine at PIMS conducted a weeklong survey in various markets of the town in which blood testing for sugar was conducted. “It was surprising that we found 10 to 12% of visitors suffering from diabetes who did not know about their disease,” he said.
He added that so far, in 2012, over 3,000 new patients of diabetes have been registered at the PIMS. “It is important that not only the incidence of the disease is on the rise, but also the number of patients with its complications is increasing day by day hinting towards a huge disaster in future.”
Explaining diabetes, Dr. Zafar said that it is a disease in which the insulin production in the body is either deficient or totally absent.
Insulin is a hormone, which is secreted by human pancreas in response to increase in blood glucose level after meals. Insulin helps entry of glucose in the cells and its utilization by the cells. When glucose remains high in blood due to ineffectiveness of insulin, the glucose start leaving the kidneys and during this process, it takes water with it that is the reason for increased urine output and resultant thirst.
He said that the high glucose affects the blood vessels and it can damage the blood vessels of the eye causing blindness, kidneys causing renal failure, nerves causing neuropathy, heart causing heart attacks, brain causing stroke and peripheral vessels causing gangrene and foot infections.
To a query, Dr. Jamal said that the main reasons for diabetes are genetic factors and environmental factors. Genes cannot be changed, but environmental factors can be modified by eating healthy diet, doing regular exercise and living a stress free life, he said.
He said that the concerned stakeholders should consider great financial implications and come forward to educate public, while the government should legislate in a way that no housing societies or localities should be developed without planning of playgrounds and or room for physical exercise.
He added that diabetes type 2 is also increasing in the children due to their eating habits. “Parents should not allow their children to have fast food and fizzy drinks regularly instead outdoors games should be promoted to save the future generation from the disease,” he concluded.
Saving our next generation from diabetes needs commitment from all concerned stakeholders, including government, NGOs and media. If proper attention is not given to the issue, it might emerge as a huge disaster for the nation in future.
Head of General Medicine Department at Pakistan Institute of Medical Sciences Professor Dr. Jamal Zafar said this while talking to ‘The News’ in connection with World Diabetes Day observed on Wednesday. He said that the International Diabetes Federation’s World Diabetes Day theme for 2012 is ‘Protect Our Future’ and it is an opportunity for all stakeholders to take serious measures to deal with the problem.
He said that earlier Pakistan was taken as a cirrhotic state, but now it has become a diabetic state with nearly 15 million persons suffering from the disease, of which a great number of patients are unaware of their status, which is more alarming.
He said that recently the Department of Medicine at PIMS conducted a weeklong survey in various markets of the town in which blood testing for sugar was conducted. “It was surprising that we found 10 to 12% of visitors suffering from diabetes who did not know about their disease,” he said.
He added that so far, in 2012, over 3,000 new patients of diabetes have been registered at the PIMS. “It is important that not only the incidence of the disease is on the rise, but also the number of patients with its complications is increasing day by day hinting towards a huge disaster in future.”
Explaining diabetes, Dr. Zafar said that it is a disease in which the insulin production in the body is either deficient or totally absent.
Insulin is a hormone, which is secreted by human pancreas in response to increase in blood glucose level after meals. Insulin helps entry of glucose in the cells and its utilization by the cells. When glucose remains high in blood due to ineffectiveness of insulin, the glucose start leaving the kidneys and during this process, it takes water with it that is the reason for increased urine output and resultant thirst.
He said that the high glucose affects the blood vessels and it can damage the blood vessels of the eye causing blindness, kidneys causing renal failure, nerves causing neuropathy, heart causing heart attacks, brain causing stroke and peripheral vessels causing gangrene and foot infections.
To a query, Dr. Jamal said that the main reasons for diabetes are genetic factors and environmental factors. Genes cannot be changed, but environmental factors can be modified by eating healthy diet, doing regular exercise and living a stress free life, he said.
He said that the concerned stakeholders should consider great financial implications and come forward to educate public, while the government should legislate in a way that no housing societies or localities should be developed without planning of playgrounds and or room for physical exercise.
He added that diabetes type 2 is also increasing in the children due to their eating habits. “Parents should not allow their children to have fast food and fizzy drinks regularly instead outdoors games should be promoted to save the future generation from the disease,” he concluded.
Posted in: Islamabad
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