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‘Almost 20pc people diabetic in Punjab’

By our correspondents
December 07, 2016

LAHORE

The scale of diabetes prevalence in Punjab is largely underestimated as the disease prevalence has reached nearly 20 per cent instead of existing purported 10 per cent diabetic population in the province. 

Addressing a press conference on the sidelines of Punjab Diabetes Forum at a local hotel on Tuesday, Organising Committee Chairman Prof Dr Faisal Masood said diabetes was a silent killer that fueled fatal and crippling diseases like renal and heart failure, stroke, blindness. “The diabetes is a major burden on health sector as mere prevention can reduce dialysis, stenting and amputations by half,” he added. 

Flanked by Ambassador of Denmark to Pakistan Ole Thonke, Professor of Medicine from Rashid Latif Medical College Prof Dr Aziz-ur-Rehman and General Manager novo Nordisk Rashid Rafique Butt, Vice Chancellor of King Edward Medical University Prof Dr Faisal Masood said that people’s lifestyle had drastically changed as they had stopped physical exertion and given up use of simple food, which was resulting in obesity leading to diabetes. Thirdly, he said that people need to change their social concepts by stop linking obesity with health and prosperity.

Terming Western fast food as a poison, he urged people to stop eating fast food, rich-fat or oily food, Naan, cold drinks, etc, and advised them to eat healthy food like fresh fruits and vegetables and do regular exercise like jogging or walk to prevent diabetes. “If people still want to eat food cooked in oil, then they should freeze cooked food and separate the oil layer frozen on top of it,” he said while emphasising to use such innovative solutions to adopt prevention.

He said that Punjab government had formed a taskforce on diabetes, comprising Prof Faisal Masood (Chairman) and Minister and Secretary of Specialized Healthcare and Medical Education, Minister and Secretary of Primary and Secondary Healthcare, which had proposed setting up Diabetes Clinics at all DHQ Hospitals, post specialist nurses in diabetes management and trained paramedics to manage diabetes patients.

He informed that Taskforce on Diabetes would also prepare a checklist of prevention, early detection, quality management and treatment of complications, adding that the taskforce would implement at least minimum standardized treatment in all districts in a uniform manner. He advised people to get their sugar test done at least once a year.

He said that the rapid urbanisation had eaten up green areas, and stressed the need to create grounds for sports in schools, colleges, residential colonies and localities. He also condemned the role of quackery in increasing the burden of disease and added that negative campaign regarding treatment of diabetes through dates or other local methods tantamount to misleading people.

Prof Dr Aziz-ur-Rehman, Professor of Medicine from Rashid Latif Medical College, said that, as per the figures of International Diabetes Federation, the diabetes prevalence was around 415 million globally in 2015, which was expected to rise up to 642 million by the year 2040, adding that the major chunk of this increase in prevalence rate was expected to be in African and Asian countries. He said diabetes was contracted without any signs o pain or fever and therefore called a silent killer, adding that prevention is the most cost-effective intervention to beat the disease. He advised people to keep portion size of food small.

Ambassador of Denmark to Pakistan Ole Thonke said that Denmark had over 100 years of experience of fighting with diabetes, and succeeded in maintaining diabetes prevalence rate at 6 per cent. “This is a great milestone that is achieved through awareness regarding healthy lifestyle with balanced diet and exercise,” he said.