Hyderabad: Yet another health survey in Hyderabad shows significant rise in undiagnosed diabetes in the city dwellers, as per the study of Indian Institute of Medical Research.
The study found Hyderabad topping the chart with 16.6 per cent rise in diagnosis of Diabetes Miletus with Thiruvananthapuram at 16.3 per cent, Chennai at 13.5 per cent, New Delhi at 11.6 per cent and Mumbai at 9.3 per cent among other cities in India.
Nutritionist Sujatha Stephen characterized South Indians as, “The diet of South Indians is mostly rice. They eat rice in different forms and that’s one of the major reasons for diabetes in this part of India. People eat a complex of carbohydrates, saturated fats and sugar. The diet lacks in whole grains, millets and low carbohydrates, which will go a long way in controlling abdominal obesity and also the early advent of the disease.”
Dr K.D. Modi, Consultant Endocrinologist, explained, “Food habits have seen a major change where there is dependence on rice, high and dense calorie foods. A maximum number of those affected are in sitting jobs. In the productive age-group from 35 to 50 years, where we are seeing an increasing number, the lifestyle is to eat, sit, go home and sleep. There is no time for outdoor activity or physical fitness and that is proving to be a causative factor for increasing incidence of diseases in the younger age group.”
Dr Bipin Kumar Sethi, Senior Endocrinologist, explained, “Central obesity, where the waist-to-hip ratio is higher, is one of the major reasons for diabetes among Indians. This leads to a situation where the protective hormones are secreted less and there are more of fatty acids in circulation. When there is an increased level of fatty acids, this decreases the capacity of the pancreas to produce insulin and control sugars.”
Experts say though this is not commonly found in middle or lower income groups, 40% of patients are from the higher or the middle income groups. Reason? They believe consumption of carbohydrate rich food, stress and work pressure, sedentary lifestyle, no regular exercises can be blamed as few.
Dr Sridevi Patnala, Senior Endocrinologist, explained, “Most patients are not diagnosed properly, or they simply skip the diagnosis due to economic reasons. Hence they come to the hospital with vascular problems. At that stage, considerable damage is done to the vascular system. Hence, identifying them in the periphery areas and also in the far-flung districts with random blood sugar tests is important. Get these people into the fold of institutional care”, as reported in DC.
Study:
• 382 million: Was the estimated global prevalence of diabetes in the adult population in 2013, showing a prevalence rate of 8.3%.
• 4% of adults are engaged in some form of physical activity.
• 31.7 million: In India suffer from diabetes.
• Long-term effects of diabetes Can include blindness, gangrene, renal failure and heart disease.
• 85% of diabetes is almost related to obesity.
Advise:
• Eat low carb food.
• Eat in small portions of 6.
• Avoid eating food, drinks rich in sugar
