The World Diabetes Day is observed in Bangladesh regularly or annually. This year’s Day was observed on Wednesday. Different programmes are carried out on the occasion such as discussion meetings, seminars, rallies, etc. But the observance of days such as these are more rituals. The same do not have so much of enduring impact at the field level where so much should be done to build barriers against this disease.
Diabetes does not kill quickly. Therefore, people feel complacent to be proactive to stop it from finding a foothold in one’s body or to treat it with great earnestness. But both attitude can be fatal in the medium and longer terms. First of all unregulated diabetes can reduce human vitality, curb their contribution to working hours. Ultimately, patients with the affliction may turn out to be a liability in the medical, physical and economic sense for their families and society as a whole. Thus, the best course is to prevent diabetes from finding a berth in the body and if it is already entrenched then to keep it under firm control.
But it is worryingly noted that the number of sufferers from diabetes have soared in Bangladesh in recent years. It was reported on Wednesday that there are some 8 million identified sufferers from diabetes in Bangladesh . However, the real number of total sufferers could be greater in the background of the disease not getting detected in so many cases. Besides cases of juvenile diabetes is also spreading fast, something unthinkable even a decade ago. Indeed, diabetes appears to be the single biggest health threat in Bangladesh nowadays. People with diabetes are seen to be increasing faster in number in Bangladesh compared to other major diseases.
Bangladesh has a total population of more than 160 million and is among the countries with the highest number of people with diabetes worldwide. The International Diabetes Federation (IDF) estimated 8.1 million people with diabetes in Bangladesh and almost an equal number with undetected diabetes. This number is estimated to double by 2025.Diabetes care is mostly provided by the Diabetes Association of Bangladesh (DAB), which is a not-for-profit association of several hospitals and health centres across the country. The increasingly high incidence of diabetes is expected to have devastating social and economic impacts on the overburdened healthcare systems of the country.
Diabetes is a costly condition and can lead to several disabling and life-threatening complications, including stroke, heart attack, chronic kidney diseases, neuropathy, visual impairment and amputations. Studies in Bangladesh reported eye problems, chronic kidney diseases, cardiovascular diseases and depression as major complications. Although most of these complications can largely be prevented through the use of several inexpensive, easy-to-use and cost-effective interventions, their use in developing countries, where the majority of persons with diabetes live, remains tragically low.
A country like Bangladesh with its modest national health budget and meager resources available at individual and family levels, needs to concentrate more on the preventive sides of diabetes so that people do not acquire this serious health problem in the first place and to train up the ones who get the disease to keep it under control. If this is done, then the expenditure of resources on diabetes related illnesses can be reasonable and diabetic patients can continue to lead useful and productive lives.
Diabetes prevention involve eating more healthfully, becoming more physically active and losing a few extra pounds – and it’s never too late to start. Making a few simple changes in lifestyle now may help one to avoid the serious health complications of diabetes down the road, such as nerve, kidney and heart damage.
The first rule to prevent and control diabetes is regular physical activity. Exercise can help one to lose weight, lower blood sugar and to boost sensitivity to insulin which helps to keep blood sugar within a normal range. Research shows that aerobic exercise can help control diabetes, but the greatest benefit comes from a fitness programme that includes both aerobic exercises and exercising with weights.
Foods high in fiber include fruits, vegetables, beans, whole grains, nuts and seeds. Regular consumption of these can help to ward off diabetes in the first place or to control the same if already developed.
Diabetes related information in Bangladesh require regular and focused dissemination in the mass media more so to create greater awareness as diabetes is posing as a serious and spreading health concern in the country. As it is, such publicities are only intermittent when the media needs to campaign on a daily basis to alert people about the disease.