It is common knowledge that diabetes is of two types i.e.Type 1 & Type 2. Type 1 diabetes is generally found in children and young adults and can be treated only with Insulin. This article discusses some of the lifestyle issues leading to Type 2 diabetes which is becoming an epidemic in India.
Current Trends, in India, are extremely dangerous with projected Diabetes Patients reaching almost 200 million in the next decade. A number of issues are aiding this problem. Amongst the most pronounced are following:
1) Lifestyle and work: Current generation is facing drastic changes in the country. The way people work has completed changed during last 10-15 years, particularly work culture in IT/ITES industry. People have started working late nights, which has also resulted in a change in their sleep cycles and eating habits. At times they eat more and at times they eat inadequately or eat wrong types of food.
2) Eating habits: Eating outside food or junk food is at times a status symbol and at others a necessity for young population that is staying away from their families for work and is also working at odd hours. Aping Western culture and living on cold drinks and chips has become a style statement or may be a necessity to eat something hygienically packed. One of the major reasons being office canteens and school canteens don’t offer healthy food items.
3) Alcohol Consumption & Smoking: A lot of Indians have started hitting the pubs after hard days of work to wind off the day. This complete switch is definitely taking its toll on new India.
4) Physical Activity: With wealth, physical activity has gone down. Cars have taken over our daily life and we have started using private vehicles for short commutes even to nearby markets. Even children no longer want to ride a cycle and parents feel it is safer to ride a car than a cycle in a chaotic city. But all this is leading to lessening of physical activity amongst children. Children are glued to TV in their free time and don’t indulge in outdoor activities unlike yesteryear.
5) Stressful life: With so much on each and everyone’s platter everyone is working hard to meet their goals. Peer pressure also contributes to this trend.
All the above listed lifestyle problems are leading to increase in number of Diabetics in some manner or the other. Addressing these lifestyle issues is equally important as is taking medication to treat diabetes. It is high time that people realize that Changing lifestyle is of utmost importance if they want to live a healthy diabetes free life. “Diabetes is not a disease that can be handled only by the doctor but needs help from a team of medical professionals including Nutritionist/Dietitian, Psychiatrist and a Diabetes Consultant as together they can help a patient change his/her lifestyle.” adds Dr Kirti Soota, leading Diabetic Consultant in Delhi.
