Uncontrolled diabetes can lead to long-term complications

Health experts Saturday expressed their serious concern over the rising number of diabetic patients and warned that uncontrolled diabetes is the leading cause of heart attack, kidney failure, eye problems, feet injuries, and nerves related serious complications.

Talking to the PTV news channel, the experts said Pakistan is now ranked third in the prevalence of diabetes following China and India.

A senior medical specialist at PIMS Dr Sher Ali said that the number of diabetes patients in Pakistan is roughly more than 30 lacs which is alarming, adding, early diagnosis and timely interventions are crucial to prevent subsequent type 2 diabetes.

He said healthful eating is an important way of managing blood sugar levels, adding, a person with a new diagnosis of diabetes may have to reconsider their diet.

He added that highly processed foods like fast food that are high in calories and low in vitamins, minerals, and fiber break down quickly in the body and can cause a rapid rise in blood sugar levels.

“There is an urgent need for reinvention of Pakistani cuisine, he demanded, adding, every unhealthy eating habit should be avoided, especially rice in the form of biryani, soft drinks, and the so-called fast food”.

He said most people living with diabetes do not know of their health status and they only come to know about it when their eyes, kidneys, heart, or brain had suffered irreparable damage.

The silent killer diabetes was consuming thousands of lives in Pakistan annually but unfortunately, the majority of people were unaware of the causes of the disease considering it a minor issue, he regretted.

Lack of awareness regarding health issues was no less than a crime, as diseases like diabetes were causing irreversible damage to the people silently, he mentioned.

He advised the public to change their dietary and recreational habits and get themselves tested for diabetes as soon as possible.