It was not the treatment or management of diabetes, but prevention that should be given centre-stage, said MLA J R Lobo.
Speaking at the World Health Day programme organised by the district administration, Zilla Panchayat, Department of Health and Family Welfare here on Thursday, he said that the change in lifestyle is one of the main reasons for diabetes. “The youth consume junk food instead of healthy food. There is a need to create an awareness on diabetes. Through awareness, polio, leprosy and other diseases have been checked,” he advised.
MLC Ivan D’Souza and Deputy Commissioner AB Ibrahim also spoke.
A handbill to prevent stress among students during examinations was released by District Legal Services Authority Member Secretary B Ganesh.
The Health Department also launched the Inactivated Polio Vaccine (IPV) on the occasion.
Udupi
Priyanka Mary Francis, Zilla Panchayat chief executive officer, said that the number of diabetic cases can be reduced to a certain extent by creating awareness among children on the prevalence of diabetes.
Speaking at the World Health Day programme at Shirdi Saibaba Cancer Hospital in Manipal on Thursday, she said that diabetes is on the increase and emerging as a major public health problem. “Rapid urbanisation has resulted in dramatic lifestyle changes, leading to lifestyle-related diseases. In 1980, there were 108 million people suffering from diabetes in the world. The number, however, has increased to 422 million in 2014,” she warned.
Maintaining that the government of India has taken up measures to create awareness at grassroot-level, the CEO said that the government has brought in National Programme on Prevention and Control of Cancer, Diabetes, CVD and Stroke (NPCDCS), an integrated national programme to initiate measures at grassroot-level. The programme would involve the awareness creating measures right from the schools, she added.
The CEO said that, earlier, diabetes would affect the people of high income groups. “Awareness level is now high among that section of society. Currently, the target group for diabetes is middle-class and upper middle-class groups,” she warned.
District Health Officer Dr Rohini said that India is the country with the second largest number of diabetes-affected patients. “In Udupi, there is 14 per cent of prevalence of suspected diabetes. The fact was discovered in the survey held for 30 years of population,” she said, and added, “The pregnancy case with diabetes is not much concern in the region.”