NEPAL: Diabetes Is A Growing Health Threat

KATHMANDU (The Rising Nepal), February 8, 2008: By Indira Aryal Urban lifestyle, growing obesity and inactivity among the children have been posing risks to the health of the people in the form of diabetes. Data prepared by the World Health Organisation (WHO) show that cases of diabetes have been increasing by three per cent among adolescents while the it has gone up by five per cent among children below five years of age. Presently, more than 400,000 have been affected by the disease in Nepal. Experts say that physical inactivity, overweight, changing lifestyle, junk food habits, mental trauma and heredity as well as increasing life span are some of the major causes of diabetes. It has become a serious health problem particularly among children and the medicine for them is out of the reach of the common people. Diabetes is not a disease which could be treated but patients should take regular medicines only to control the infection in other parts of body like eyes, kidney, heart and brain, says Dr. Pradeep Krishna Shrestha of Norvic Hospital. He said that there was still a trend to leave medicines within two to three year starting but diabetes is not a disease that can be controlled after taking medicines for a limited period of time. The medicines have to be regularly taken for the life time. There are four medicines prescribed for diabetic patients: * Right knowledge about the disease; * Physical activities including yoga that help to develop positive hormones; * Balanced diet and tablets and/or injection. * Patients should reduce their waistline and there should be regular monitoring to control complications, Dr. Shrestha added. Moreover, such patients should have their eyes and kidney tested at least once a year. Shanta Bahadur Shrestha, 45, of Lalitpur said that he has been taking regular medicines for the last four years. He is one of the regular patients at Bir Hospital. He said, "Earlier, I used to think that I am fit and fine and no disease could attack me but now due to my carelessness, I am living with the diabetes." He suggested other people including the younger generation to take care of the type of food taken and stress balanced diet instead of consuming junk and dry food and sugar added varieties. Now, he is used to regular exercise and yoga with medicines and his condition is improving. Another diabetic patient Kul Bahadur Thapa, 56, said that he has been taking medicines as per the direction of doctors for a long time. He said, "The main thing I am doing is regular exercise and taking simple but healthy food as well as medicines." "As I heard that diabetes could attack children also, I am advising my children to adopt healthy food habits. I also tell them not to eat junk food as the food habits can also help control the genetic cases of diabetes." Srisha Sharma of Kalanki said that both of her parents have been suffering from diabetes. She said they inherited the disease from their parents. She knows that healthy food habits could control the adverse effects of the disease to some extent. "One of my uncle lost his eyesight as he was careless about food intake. He knew the extremities of the disease but did not care about that and he is suffering," she added, "I have taken the lessons from such incidents. I know it is unavoidable in my case but I am conscious and I have learnt the ways to keep it under control with regular type of exercise and healthy diet." Most of the people in the developing and underdeveloped countries do not know about the problem and there should be awareness among the people, Dr. Singh said. Diabetes has also become a significant public health problem in urban Nepal. Studies carried out by Nepal Diabetes Association in towns and cities throughout the country have revealed that diabetes has been detected among 15 per cent of the people below 20 years and 19 per cent of the people aged 40 years and above. The prevalence of diabetes in rural areas is lower by two per cent among people aged 20 years and above. More than 95 per cent of the affected people suffer from the second type of diabetes and only five per cent from the first type. The symptoms of the second type of diabetes are found among people above 40 years of age, but some cases in the category are also found among those below 40. He said that such patients should maintain a balanced diet and should take medicines regularly. Currently, 246 million people live with diabetes globally and if nothing is done, this figure will reach 380 million within 20 years, Dr. Singh said. © Copyright 2008. Gorkhapatra Sansthan.