“Our idea is to prevent diabetes among the youth, especially college students”, he said.
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The prevalence of the disease has also doubled, rising from 4.7 to 8.5 percent of the adult population, with the biggest rises taking place in in low to middle-income countries over the past decade.
Data from the International Diabetes Federation to mark World Diabetes Day past year showed there were 803,900 diabetics in the UAE.
“Diabetes is an enormous public health challenge in India and cuts across all economic strata”.
Complications from diabetes can lead to heart attacks, strokes, blindness, kidney failure and lower limb amputations.
“Diabetes is a silent disease, but it is on an unrelenting march that we need to stop”, says Dr Etienne Krug, who is leading the World Health Organization efforts.
The announcement came on World Health Day, which is celebrated globally each year on the 7 April.
The first World Health Day occurred in 1950 and since then there has been a different theme each year.
The WHO is calling for stronger measures to reduce risk factors for diabetes and improve treatment and care of the disease, which has increased in step with the rise of obesity rates. In China, 11.2 percent of the adult population in urban areas were considered at risk for developing diabetes.
Diabetes affects so many lives and can jeopardize a person’s health in multiple ways.
Although this diabetes stats were not classified into type 1 or type 2, between 85 and 95 percent of adult diabetes cases are type 2, which is preventable.
Chan said even in the poorest settings, governments must ensure people make healthy choices and that health systems diagnose and treat those with diabetes.
“But change greatly depends on governments doing more, including by implementing global commitments to address diabetes and other NCDs”.
Some common symptoms of diabetes are: Blurred vission, sudden loss of weight, frequent urination and an increase in hunger and thirst.
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One of its recommendations in fighting diabetes is prioritizing the prevention of people from becoming overweight and obese starting from birth to early childhood.
