World Diabetes Day November 14, 2015: Healthy living starts at breakfast

World Diabetes Day

Each year, World Diabetes Day, which is co-ordinated by the International Diabetes Federation (IDF), carries a particular theme and between 2009 and 2013 the theme has been ‘education and prevention’.


World Diabetes Day November 14, 2015: Healthy living starts at breakfast

The theme of World Diabetes Day, from 2014 to 2016 will be healthy living and diabetes and this year (2015), there’s a focus on starting each day right by having a healthy breakfast.

A healthy breakfast should help blood sugar levels from getting too high and should keep you full through the morning. Whilst cereal and toast may be cheap, these options typically raise blood sugar levels rapidly and may leave you hungry again before lunch.

If you drink fruit juice for breakfast, consider cutting the juice out or having a smaller glass of it. For reference, a 150ml glass of unsweetened orange juice contains around 15g of carbohydrate and 13g of sugar.



Diabetes in India

 According to statistics from the International Diabetes Federation (IDF), India has more diabetics than any other nation of the world. Current estimates peg the number of diabetics in the country at about 62 million – an increase of over 10 million from 2011 when estimates suggested that about 50.8 million people in the country were suffering from the disease. If you think the disease has already reached endemic proportions in the country, consider this. By the year 2030, over 100 million people in India are likely to suffer from diabetes, say researchers.

Why are Indians Susceptible to Diabetes?

A number of factors in combination make Indians highly susceptible to Diabetes.

Genetic factors are among the greatest contributors to the rapid spread of this disease. On an average, Indians are four times more likely to develop diabetes than Europeans, based solely on genetic outlook.

Looking at this scenario from the socio-economic perspective it is not difficult to understand why Indians are falling prey to diabetes en masse. Of all the states, Maharashtra and Tamil Nadu seem to have the highest prevalence of diabetes. Apart from the health risks, diabetes pushes the masses to poverty. News reports say that about a fourth of a person’s income could be spent managing diabetes and diabetes related health issues.

Cultural and social factors are no less important. The Indian diet is rich in carbohydrates and saturated fats. A typical Indian diet is has more calories and sugar than required by the body. This is the cause of obesity, which in turn leads to diabetes.

Urban migration and change in lifestyle is another factor that must be considered in the study of diabetes in India. The younger generations are increasingly choosing a sedentary lifestyle. With rising standard of living comes the tendency to consume processed sugary foods.

Diabetes Awareness in India

Diabetes screening and identification is a very simple process requiring minimal effort on the part of patients. Cities and suburban regions have good number of screening and detection centres. Much of rural India, however, is not adequately equipped to detect diabetes early on. According to estimates, about 50 percent diabetics in India, mostly in rural areas, are not aware of their condition. While there have been nationwide campaigns, some involving celebrities, for the eradication of polio, TB, malaria, and small pox, no such awareness campaign has been undertaken either by the central government or the states to educate the masses about diabetes.

An estimated one million Indians die each year due to diabetes. Every adult over the age of 40 is at risk, but virtually, no awareness of the disease exists in the country.

The Ministry of Health has also failed in the past decades to commission a nationwide research into the prevalence and access to treatment. Some of the major research works on diabetes in India are undertaken by private institutions such as Madras Diabetes Research Foundation and Indian Diabetes Research Foundation. Some of these research programmes are undertaken independently while others in association with WHO, International Diabetes Research Foundation, etc. Other research projects are undertaken by educational institutions such as universities and pharmaceutical companies. Sadly, despite the precarious health scenario due to the spread of diabetes, the government has turned a blind eye.

The International Diabetes Foundation (IDF) has been running Project Hope since 2007. The project trains and educates health care profe

Current Treatment

Diabetes is usually not reversible. It is treated with insulin therapy. Early diabetes may be controlled by oral drugs but high levels of blood glucose require insulin shots to be administered. Diabetes drugs are easily available across the country in government hospitals and rural medical centres.

Treatment of other diseases caused by diabetes such as diabetic retinopathy and renal failure can be treated by medicine and surgery. Rural Indians can access these facilities at government health centres and hospitals. The Sankara Foundation Eye Hospital holds camps for screening and surgical treatment of diabetic retinopathy across the country.

Preventing Diabetes

The onset of Type 2 diabetes or Diabetes Mellitus may be delayed or altogether prevented in a great number of cases. Having a balanced diet is key to diabetes prevention. Exercising regularly and maintaining an ideal body weight is another major factor in prevention of diabetes. Obese people are at an elevated risk of developing diabetes. Avoidance of alcohol and tobacco also considerably reduce the risk of developing diabetes. Regular health checks to rule out diabetes are mandatory for everyone over the age of 40.



Diabetes Myths in India



The biggest diabetes myth is that people with diabetes can't eat sugar

There are a number of myths about diabetes that are all too commonly reported as facts. These misrepresentations of diabetes can sometimes be harmful and lead to an unfair stigma around the condition.

Diabetes information is widely available, both from healthcare professionals and the Internet, but not all of it is true.

It can be hard to know what is accurate, so this page aims to highlight the top ten of the most common diabetes myths.

As well as diabetes myths, you may be interested in these diabetes facts.

Myth 1: People with diabetes can’t eat sugar

This is one of the most common diabetes myths; that people with the condition have to eat a sugar-free diet.

People with diabetes need to eat a diet that is balanced, which can include some sugar in moderation.

People with diabetes can eat sugar.

Myth 2: Type 2 diabetes is mild



This diabetes myth is widely repeated, but of course it isn’t true.

No form of diabetes is mild.

If type 2 diabetes is poorly managed it can lead to serious (even life-threatening) complications.

Good control of diabetes can significantly decrease the risk of complications but this doesn’t mean the condition itself is not serious.

Myth 3: Type 2 diabetes only affects fat people

Whilst type 2 diabetes is often associated with being overweight and obese by the media, it is patently untrue that type 2 diabetes only affects overweight people.

Around 20% of people with type 2 diabetes are of a normal weight, or underweight.




Myth 4: People with diabetes should only eat diabetic food

Diabetic food is one of the most common myths of the last ten years. The label ‘diabetic’ is often used on sweets foods. Often sugar alcohols, or other sweeteners, will be used instead of sugar. Diabetic food will often still affect blood glucose levels, is expensive, and may also cause adverse side effects.



Diabetes charity Diabetes UK recommends that people with diabetes avoid diabetic food.

Myth 5: People with diabetes go blind and lose their legs

Diabetes is a leading cause of blindness and also causes many amputations each year. However, those people with diabetes that control blood pressure, glucose, weight and quit smoking all increase their chances of remaining complication free.

Blindness and amputation are therefore preventable and the vast majority of people with diabetes will avoid blindness and amputation, particularly if annual diabetic health checks are attended each year.



Myth 6: People with diabetes are dangerous drivers

This myth is based around an inaccurate generalisation. The main danger of driving for people with diabetes is if hypoglycemia occurs.

However, hypoglycemia is a preventable state and the vast majority of people with diabetes at risk of hypos exercise care to avoid hypos taking place whilst driving.

Statistics show that diabetics are no less safe on the road than anyone else with significant accidents being attributed to hypoglycemia affecting less 0.2% of drivers treated with insulin.

However, the myth that people with diabetes are dangerous drivers is ongoing.

Myth 7: People with diabetes shouldn’t play sport

High-prominence diabetic sportsmen and women have disproved this diabetes myth. People with diabetes should take part in exercise to maintain a healthy lifestyle.

There are some factors worth considering before partaking in sport, but there is no reason why people with diabetes can’t participate in most cases.

Myth 8: People with diabetes can't do many jobs

Having diabetes won’t stop you from having a job and with the improvements that have been made in treatment of diabetes, the number of jobs that people with diabetes are ineligible for is now very small.

The armed forces is one profession which may prevent people with diabetes from entering specific roles, such as front line service, but many other positions will be accessible.

It’s worth noting that people with diabetes that cannot work, for individual sight or mobility reasons, may be entitled to specific benefits.

Myth 9: People with diabetes are more likely to be ill

People with diabetes are not more likely to have colds or other illnesses. The significance of illness for people with diabetes is that it can make the management of blood glucose levels more difficult which can increase the severity of an illness or infection. Prevention of illness is particularly important and therefore flu jabs are advisable and free.



Myth 10: Diabetes is contagious

Something of a classic playground myth, diabetes cannot be caught off someone else. Diabetes is categorised as being a non-communicable illness meaning it cannot be passed on by sneezing, through touch, nor via blood or any other person to person means.

The only way in which diabetes can be passed on is from parents to their own children but even this is only a genetic likelihood of diabetes and not the condition itself.