How to prevent diabetes

 What is diabetes or 'sugar'?

 

This disease (diabetes) occurs when the body is unable to dissolve the sugar (glucose) contained in it and add it to the blood. Its complications can lead to heart attacks, strokes, blindness, kidney failure, and amputations of feet and legs. Diabetes can strike anyone, diabetes is a lifelong medical condition that kills millions of people every year.

Diabetes (disease) is a rapidly growing problem and according to the International Diabetes Federation, more than 800 million people worldwide are suffering from diabetes. This disease is growing very fast. This can be estimated from the fact that this number is five times what it was 40 years ago.

The number of people suffering from diabetes worldwide is 800 million, while in Pakistan it has increased to more than 36 million. According to a recent study, one out of every four people in Pakistan is suffering from diabetes and this number is growing rapidly. According to the World Diabetes Organization, about 200,000 people become disabled every year due to diabetes in Pakistan. Diabetes is also the eighth leading cause of death in Pakistan. Compared to 2005, there has been a 50% increase in the number of people affected. Despite these dangers, people suffering from diabetes in Pakistan are not aware that changes in their lifestyle can improve the situation.

 

What causes diabetes?

When we eat, our body converts starch (carbohydrates) into sugar (glucose), after which the hormone insulin, produced in the pancreas, instructs our body's cells to use them for energy. So absorb this sugar. Diabetes occurs when insulin is not produced or works properly, causing sugar to build up in our blood.

 

Are there many types of diabetes?

In type 1 diabetes, the pancreas stops making insulin, which causes sugar (glucose) to accumulate in the bloodstream. Scientists don't know the exact cause, but they think it may be due to a genetic influence or a viral infection that damages the insulin-producing cells in the pancreas. Ten percent of diabetes patients suffer from type 1 diabetes. In type 2 diabetes, the pancreas either does not make enough insulin or the insulin it does make does not work properly.

This usually happens to middle-aged and older people. However, this disease can affect young, overweight people, those with a sedentary lifestyle, and people belonging to certain races, especially South Asians.

 

Pregnant women get diabetes

Some pregnant women develop gestational diabetes when their bodies do not make enough insulin for them and the baby. According to different estimates from different studies, six to sixteen percent of women develop diabetes during pregnancy. They then have to control their sugar levels through diet and exercise, to prevent it from converting to type 2 insulin. People can now be diagnosed with elevated blood glucose levels and be alerted to their risk of developing diabetes.

 

Symptoms of diabetes?

Urinating more than usual, especially at night

Excessive thirst

Weight loss

Feeling tired

blurred vision

Non-healing of wounds

 

According to the British National Health Service, the symptoms of type 1 diabetes begin to appear in childhood or adolescence and are more dangerous. People at risk of type 2 diabetes are over 40 years old (South Asians up to 25 years old). One of their parents or siblings has diabetes and is overweight or obese. It consists mostly of people from South Asian countries, Chinese people, Arab Indians, and black Africans.

 

Can diabetes be prevented?

Diabetes depends largely on genetic and environmental factors, but you can keep your blood sugar at a healthy level with a healthy diet and an active lifestyle. Avoiding processed sugary foods and drinks, and replacing white bread and pasta with whole wheat flour is the first step. Refined sugar and grains are less nutritious because they are stripped of their vitamin-rich content. Examples include white flour, white bread, white rice, white pasta, bakery items, soda drinks, sweets, and breakfast desserts.

Healthy foods to prevent diabetes include vegetables, fruits, seeds, and grains. It also includes healthy oils, nuts and omega-3 fish oils. It is important to eat at regular intervals and refrain from hunger pangs. Physical exercise also helps lower blood sugar levels. In the UK, the NHS recommends that at least two and a half hours a week of exercise or brisk walking or stair climbing is beneficial.

A healthy body weight helps keep sugar levels low. If you want to lose weight, do it slowly, ie lose half a kilo or a kilo a week. To avoid diabetes, it is also important not to smoke and to keep your cholesterol levels low to reduce the risk of heart disease.

 

What are the problems caused by diabetes?

 

High blood sugar can damage blood vessels. If the blood flow in the body is not good, it does not reach the organs where it is needed, due to which there is a risk of nerve damage. This can lead to pain and loss of sensation, vision, and infection in the feet. The World Health Organization says that diabetes is the main cause of kidney failure, blindness, heart attack, stroke, and amputation.

 

How many people in the world suffer from diabetes?

 

Over the past 30 years, the number of people suffering from diabetes has doubled to more than 800 million worldwide, and Pakistan is the fourth largest country affected by the disease. Currently, 58.7 million adults worldwide are suffering from this disease and it is expected that by 2030, this number may increase to 65 million. According to the WHO, 75% of people with diabetes live in middle-income countries or low-income, where eating habits are changing rapidly. Processed foods are the main cause of diabetes in developed countries.

The study, published in the journal Lancet, found that between 1990 and 2022, the prevalence of diabetes among adults worldwide increased from 7 to 14 percent, with the greatest increase seen in poor and middle-income countries.

NCD-RisC scientists worked in collaboration with the World Health Organization and used data from over 1,000 research reports on 140 million people aged 18 and over in different countries. They compared the prevalence and treatment of diabetes in different countries and regions using different tools.

Diabetes is a chronic disease in which the pancreas is unable to produce adequate amounts of insulin. If diabetes is not controlled, the blood sugar level increases continuously, which damages the various organs of the body, especially the nerves and blood vessels.

Type 1 diabetes is an autoimmune disease in which the body destroys the cells in the pancreas that produce insulin, while type 2 diabetes is a metabolic disorder in which the body cannot use insulin properly.

More than 95 percent of diabetics are diagnosed with type 2 diabetes. Unlike type 1 diabetes, type 2 is preventable. Genetic factors including being overweight, poor dietary habits and lack of physical activity increase the risk of developing type 2 diabetes.

Research has shown that more than 50% of diabetes patients in the world have appeared in 4 countries. In 2022, more than a quarter (210 million) of patients resided in India, 141 million, 42 million from the United States, and 36 million from Pakistan. 2.5 million and 2.2 million cases have been confirmed in Indonesia and Brazil respectively. Rising obesity rates and an aging population are also increasing the risk of type 2 diabetes spreading worldwide.

Because of the disability and other serious effects, it is important to prevent diabetes through a healthy diet and exercise, the researchers said. He further stated that the results show the need for better policies in this regard, especially in low-income countries, which should limit the consumption of unhealthy foods, reduce the prices of healthy foods, and increase exercise. Opportunities should be expanded.

The study found that despite the availability of effective drugs to lower blood sugar levels, residents of various countries do not have access to them. This is the reason why there has been a significant improvement in treatment rates in rich countries, but the situation is deteriorating in middle and poor countries. As a result, in 2022, 445 million people with diabetes aged 30 years or older would not have access to treatment. Lack of treatment increases the risk of life-long complications including heart disease, kidney problems, vision loss, and others.

Director-General of the World Health Organization Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said regarding the results of the research that we have seen an alarming increase in the rate of diabetes cases over the past 3 decades and this is due to obesity, consumption of harmful foods, and lack of physical activity. Caused He said that the world has to take urgent steps to control diabetes globally.