Diabetes May Become Biggest Threat Than HIV In India

By: jatinder Category: Health Date: Dec 02, 2006 Views: 1165 Comments: 5

Diabetes has become the great public health crisis of the next quarter century. The top ten countries in number of people with diabetes are: 1. India 2. China 3. Indonesia 4. Japan 5. Pakistan 6. Russia 7. Brazil 8. Italy 9. Bangladesh.       

Top three countries in number of diabetes people           

The World Health Organization estimates that more than 180 million people worldwide have diabetes and the number is likely to be double by 2030. In 2005 an estimated 1.1 million people died from diabetes. Almost 80% diabetic deaths occur in low and middle-income countries.                       

 31.7 million People in India have Diabetes and number is climbing steeply. Type 2 Diabetes-which results from the body’s ineffective use of insulin and is largely, the result of excess body weight and physical inactivity, is commonly found in India.The number of estimated worldwide diabetes cases by the year 2030 will be 366,000,000 and India will have 79,441,000 cases of diabetes.                       

Number of diabetes people in India  in comparison to worldwide cases

As the living conditions improved in India, Indians are increasingly following western dietary habits unsuited for their environment, adopting sedentary life style and exposed to psychosocial stress. This has resulted in unprecedented rise of diabetes to epidemic proportions during last few decades in the country. The matter of concern is that Indians are more prone to diabetes and heart disease. It is important to understand that dietary restrictions Indians follow blindly based on western literature do not apply to Indian context.                        Epidemiological data shows that now only the prevalence of type 2 diabetes is very high in the urban population, it is also increasing. Indians eat more and take less exercise. Type 2 diabetics can control the problem with diet restrictions and exercise, but many also need extra insulin in the form of tablets or injections.                  

      India is predicted to be the world’s largest epidemic country. By the year 2030 world’s about 22% estimated diabetes people will be in India, and it will be difficult to cope with the problem. India is at the top of the list in number of people with diabetes. Despite this impending threat World Health Organization recently listed the biggest threats to health in India as smoking and HIV. This biggest threat of diabetes may affect the Indian system; specific measures against it are urgently required. Understanding diabetes, living with diabetes and preventing further complications should be the major concerns of health fraternity.