Diabetes mellitus is a growing concern for all ages, affecting the Asian countries the most. It is one of the leading causes of deaths and is predicted to be on the rise in the years to come.
The number of people with diabetes is increasing due to various factors such as population, growth, aging, urbanization, and increasing prevalence of obesity and physical inactivity. According to the WHO, the prevalence of diabetes for all the age-groups worldwide is estimated to be around 4.4% in 2030. Regionally, India is found to have more diabetics, according to the International Diabetes Foundation, as diabetes and cardiac diseases impact each other directly.
The same study showed that the prevalence in Bangladesh will rise up to 13% by 2030. These Asian countries are prone to facing the major health problem due to their unbalanced diet that includes rich spices, excess oil coupled with poor lifestyle choices. Rice is loaded with carbohydrates, which gets converted into sugar after digestion. With the lack of exercises, patients store more calories than required, resulting in the unwanted fat, leading to obesity. Doctors at Narayana Health have always mentioned that the most common reason for a patient to develop diabtetes is obesity. Obese patients are at a higher risk of heart attacks and diabetes. In order to live a healthier and happier diabetic-free life, one should start making changes at the earliest.
In most cases, diabetes is diagnosed unintentionally or by accident. When this happens, the patient is either in an advanced form of diabetes and will need to immediately start medication for instant relief. Before we deviate into the treatment methods, it’s important to understand the types of diabetes
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There are three types of diabetes- Type 1, Type 2 and gestational diabetes. While Type 1 occurs mostly among children due to the absence of insulin, Type 2 occurs in the adults due to the lack in insulin, while gestational occurs among pregnant women. Insulin injections are injected into infants/kids as that’s the only option. But in the case of adults, insulin medicines are prescribed.
By 2030, studies show that the number of people with diabetes will be more than double. This will be a consequence of population aging and urbanization. While the greatest relative increase will occur worldwide, India will continue to be the number one country for diabetes and that is not a good news for our fellow countrymen.