National Diabetes Prevention Week declared

Nadira Gunatilleke

The Healthcare and Nutrition Ministry has declared a National Diabetes Prevention Week from November 10 to 16 targeting children and youth. The week will be held to coincide with the International Diabetes Day to be marked on November 14.

The Ministry has made arrangements to conduct the week countrywide with the assistance of Provincial Health Ministries and Provincial Educational Zones to educate the public and school children. During this week, awareness programmes will be conducted through posters, banners etc. The weight and waised size of schoolchildren will be measured during the week.

According to Ministry statistics urban Sri Lankans have been severely affected by diabetes irrespective of their age and gender. The lack of physical activities, eating oil related fast foods and sweetmeats, artificial foods, psychological impairment etc lead to diabetes. People should increase the consumption of fresh vegetables and fruits while engaging in adequate exercise in order to prevent diabetes.

According WHO reports, the number of diabetes patients in the world in 1985 was 50 million and it was 246 million in 2007. This number is expected to be 380 million by 2025. These statistics further indicate that there is an annual increase of 7 million diabetes patients in South Asian countries including Sri Lanka and India.