World Diabetes Day
World Diabetes Day (WDD) is celebrated every year on November 14. The World Diabetes Day campaign is led by the International Diabetes Federation (IDF) and its member associations. It engages millions of people worldwide in diabetes advocacy and awareness. World Diabetes Day was created in 1991 by the International Diabetes Federation and the World Health Organization in response to growing concerns about the escalating health threat that diabetes now poses. World Diabetes Day became an official United Nations Day in 2007 with the passage of United Nation Resolution 61/225. The campaign draws attention to issues of paramount importance to the diabetes world and keeps diabetes firmly in the public spotlight.
World Diabetes Day is a campaign that features a new theme chosen by the International Diabetes Federation each year to address issues facing the global diabetes community. While the themed campaigns last the whole year, the day itself is celebrated on November 14, to mark the birthday of Frederick Banting who, along with Charles Best, first conceived the idea which led to the discovery of insulin in 1921.
Healthy Living and Diabetes is the World Diabetes Day theme for 2014-2016.
Diabetes is growing alarmingly in India, home to more than 65,1 million people with the disease, compared to 50.8 million in 2010.1 Ominously, obesity is reaching epidemic proportions among India's middle-class children and adolescents, as young people choose Western fast food over traditional cuisine. Doctors in India are fitting gastric bands on children as young as 13.
A recent report confirmed that increasing obesity in South Asians is primarily driven by nutrition, lifestyle and demographic transitions, increasingly faulty diets and physical inactivity, in the background of genetic predisposition.2 Obesity appears to spreading across India in part at least as a result of an invasion of processed Western food. India’s economic boom has been accompanied by a meteoric increase in the number of people with diabetes – and those at risk for the disease. Prevalence rates are up to 20% in some cities, and recent figures showed surprisingly increased rates in rural areas. According to a recent report by Standard and Poor’s rating agency, the fast-food market is worth USD 11.3 billion and this is set to double in three years, largely driven by a surge in growth in the market share in smaller cities across the country.
A study conducted by the Madras Diabetes Research Foundation which was supported by the Indian Council of Medical Research suggests that 1 out of every 10 people in Tamil Nadu is diabetic. While every 2 persons out of 25 are in a pre-diabetic stage. This means that about 42 lakh individuals have diabetes and 30 lakh people are in pre-diabetes stage.

The study also assessed the level of diabetes control. About 1/3 have good control of diabetes, 1/3 have an average control and 1/3 have poor control. Control of blood sugar is important, as it is the key in preventing organ complications which could lead to death. However the major concerns are low awareness and lack of preventive steps. In urban areas, for every 2 persons who were aware about their diabetic condition, there was 1 person who was unaware of it. While in the rural areas, this ratio was 1:1. It is also significant that in India diabetes occurs roughly at 35 years of age i.e. 10 years ahead of its occurrence in the West. The study is part of nationwide effort to study the nationwide prevalence of Type 2 diabetes and pre-diabetes in India. This will be done by estimating the State-wide presence of the same.
Additionally, the study also aims at studying the prevalence of hypertension and estimate the risk of heart attack. The study also found that the prevalence of abdominal obesity among men was 22.4% and women 35.3%. That converts to about 50 lakh men and 76 lakh women have abdominal obesity. Abdominal obesity was defined as a waist circumference over or equal to 90 cm for men and over or equal to 80 cm for women. The report also revealed that 27.8% of Tamil Nadu population has hypertension and 20.1% has hyper cholesterolemia. These two conditions are considered to be the pre-disposing factors for diabetes. This means that approximately 1.2 crore people have hypertension (high blood pressure) and about 86 lakh people have hyper cholesterolemia (high cholesterol).
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