The World Diabetes Day is observed in Bangladesh regularly or anually. 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 most 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 term. 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 recently 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.
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.