New Delhi, November 18
Every fifth house in Delhi has a diabetic. This was revealed by Dr M.C. Srivastava, Consultant Diabetologist of the Diabetic Self- Care Foundation, at a two-day convention on diabetes held in the Capital.
To mark World Diabetes Day, held yesterday, the Novo Nordisk Education Foundation organised a run to create awareness amongst people and the Delhi Chief Minister, Mrs Sheila Dikshit, inaugurated a convention, Diabetes 2001- Learn and Live, organised by the Diabetic Self-Care Foundation.
Speaking at the function, Mrs Dikshit said that in this disease the onus lay on the patient so knowledge about the disease was of prime importance.
Statistics reveal that by 2025 the number of diabetics in India is likely to cross 60 million and at present there are 30 million diabetics in urban India. The shocking part is that out of these only a meager 12 per cent are being treated.
The disease makes the patient vulnerable to heart ailments, said Dr Naresh Trehan, adding that early diagnosis and treatment were, therefore, mandatory.
Speaking at the convention, Dr Srivastava said diabetes was not merely a sugar problem and that there was a need for proper self- health management that would ensure lesser problems for them.
Prevalent notions that diabetes means the end of sugar and sweets are being dispelled by doctors the world over. At the convention doctors revealed that diabetics can claim their share of the sweet delights, albeit in moderation.
The convention also featured free check- up counters for patients. Another highlight of this convention was the food stalls that had been set by the students of the Institute of Hotel Management and Catering Nutrition, which displayed nutritious food for diabetics. Awareness about the disease is as necessary as its treatment. Keeping this in mind a run was organised simultaneously in 35 cities in the country.
In Delhi more than a thousand people walked a distance at Lodi Garden to mark World Diabetes Day.
