Nation is getting younger..So is Diabetes, specially Type 2
Diabetes.
Earlier Diabetes or High Blood
Sugar used to be a disease of the elderly, it wouldn’t even be suspected in a
young patient, or if found it would be straightaway labeled as Type 1 Diabetes
requiring lifelong insulin injections.
Its more and more frequently seen
that even children of school going age being on anti diabetic medication. A big
blame goes to the rising weight of the young population- according to available
statistics some 29% children going to private schools and 11.9% children going
to government funded schools in Delhi in the year 2009 were overweight. Excess
weight leads to deposition of abdominal fat in Indians and the results in
decreased insulin sensitivity, which fires a chain reaction leading to
Diabetes, Hypertension, Obesity and Dyslipidimea- all these conditions together
constitute the Metabolic Syndrome.
Lifestyle changes taking place in
the society are squarely to be blamed for this change, children prefer Fast
Food which is rich in calories, harmful Lipids, Salt and Transfats, they usually
have high glycemic index, all these causing high Blood Glucose levels, raising
blood levels of fatty acids, causing Insulin resistance and its sequale like
blockage of arteries in heart and Brain leading to Heart Attacks and stroke.
Added to these is the sedentary lifestyle of our children; outdoor games have been replaced by computer
and Television, which require no physical effort and leave the children snacking
while sitting on a sofa engrossed in their favourite shows or games. The same
behavior may be tracked to adulthood- According to WHO estimates on NCD ( Non
Communicable Diseases)- physical inactivity causes 6% of global deaths- same as
Diabetes. A recent report mentions the average age of TCS (Tata Consultancy
Services – a leading Indian Software Giant)- employees as 28 years, most of
these are spending there time sitting at the desktops with no opportunity for
physical activity.
The perils of Diabetes in this
generation are that generation is more prone to risky behavior,
and under peer pressure less likely to conform to the lifestyle changes advised
ny doctors than the ‘wiser’ senior generation which has already undergone the
ups and downs of life..If blood sugar levels are not controlled in this age
group would soon end up with serious complications of Diabetes like Heart
Attacks, Nephropathy, Retinopathy, Diabetic Foot Disease. Most of the Diabetes
complications are predictable, the morst may already appear in a span of 15 to
20 years, so these individuals at the prime of their lifetimes may be at great
disadvantage because of the time and costs associated with these complications.
