UAE Press: Diabetes poses global challenge

A UAE newspaper has said that the global prevalence of adult diabetes has nearly quadrupled since 1980, according to the World Health Organisation (WHO) and the effective way to combat the trend is to encourage people to eat healthy food, be physically active and avoid excessive weight gain.

“Diabetes is a chronic disease that occurs when the pancreas does not produce enough insulin, or when the body cannot effectively use the insulin it produces, which leads to an increased concentration of glucose in the blood,” said The Gulf Today in an editorial on Sunday.

The paper continued, “Around 1.6 million deaths can be directly attributed to diabetes each year. Diabetes is also a major cause of blindness, kidney failure, heart attack, stroke and lower limb amputation.

“The percentage of deaths attributable to high blood glucose or diabetes that occurs prior to age 70 is higher in low- and middle-income countries than in high-income countries, WHO cited in its recent Global Report on Diabetes. More than 425 million people around the world currently live with diabetes and most of them are affected by Type 2.”

The paper quoted Dr. Elham Al Amiri, Deputy Head of the Friends for Diabetes Society in Sharjah, as saying that this can be largely prevented by performing regular physical activity, and following a healthy and balanced diet, in addition to developing healthy living environments.

The family plays a key role in reducing the chance of contracting this disease by encouraging a healthy diet and regular exercise.

According to statistics, less than one out of four members of a family has access to educational programmes on diabetes, although many studies have proven that the support of the family and the participation of its members in taking care of diabetes patients have a huge effect in improving health results.

As Dr. Al Amiri well mentioned, this is why it is important that both awareness and support is made available to anyone affected by diabetes and their families, in order to reduce the negative psychological impact of the disease, which can adversely affect the quality of life of those affected.

“Being among the leading causes of death, diabetes is a major public health challenge. What is called for is united global action that not only helps raise awareness but also executes corrective measures. A callous view on the subject could prove expensive for the society as a whole,” added the paper.

“The need to pursue multilateral efforts to promote and improve human health and provide access to treatment and health care should never be underestimated,” concluded the Sharjah-based daily.