‘Diabetes on the rise: now is the time to act’

Islamabad:The Alliance for Diabetes and Liver Diseases (ADLDi) announced the launch of Fit 4 Health awareness campaign at an event here, with principals and faculty members of schools from Islamabad and Rawalpindi in attendance for a session about the importance of inculcating the concept of healthy living among school children from young age.

Wasim Akram, Brand Ambassador for changing diabetes in Pakistan, shared his experiences with the audience, emphasizing on the importance of early diagnosis for better management of diabetes.

Addressing the event, ADLDi’s Chairperson Prof. Dr Saleem Qureshi said, “Diabetes is a situation that needs to be addressed urgently as it poses a great burden on the economy of Pakistan. An initiative like Fit 4 Health which focuses towards creating awareness among the youth, is certainly a step in the right direction.”

The co-chair of ADLDi Dr. Musarrat Iqbal said, the objective of this collective initiative is to create awareness among students about adopting a healthy lifestyle from an early age to address the increasing trend of diabetes and obesity. Lifestyle modification, physical activity and healthy diet can delay or prevent onset of type 2 diabetes. “We are already a little late,” she said.

Fit 4 Health is running in collaboration with Novo Nordisk Pharma and is endorsed by the Ministry of Health. Rashed Rafique Butt, Vice President and General Manager of Novo Nordisk Pharma was also present the event along with the Ambassador of Denmark Rolf M. Holmboe.