Diabetes in India

Diabetes is being said to be one of the emerging threats in India. According to the reports published by International Diabetes Federation (IDF), in 2007 around 40 million people were estimated to be Diabetics, and now, they have predicted that by 2025, the number will rise up to 70 million!

India, as a country, is said to be second largest, in terms of having a population suffering from Diabetes. So what makes us Indians prone to the disease?

Rapid urbanisation and industrialization have paced up our social and economic development leading to a drastic change in our lifestyles. Especially with the advent of technology, people now expect everything sitting at home and with just a “touch”. The transition from the traditional to the western lifestyle, including a diet rich in fat and calories, combined with a high level of mental stress has compounded the problem further. Hence, Diabetes is also being called as a “Lifestyle Disease”.

Traditionally, we Indians generally have a sweet tooth which also adds to the reason why we are prone to Diabetes. The eclectic variety of sweets and snacks that each culture has to offer are all rich in fat and sugar. For us Indians, any festival is incomplete without sweets.

The Risk Factors for Diabetes in India

It has been observed that in India, Diabetes occurs 10-15 years earlier than the Western population. The incidence of diabetes increases with age. Here are some of the risk factors that cause diabetes in India:

• Family History: Diabetes is a genetic disorder. If it runs in your family, it’s bound to pass on to the next generation as well. A high incidence of Diabetes is seen among the first degree relatives.
• Obesity: We have already discussed in our previous articles how Type 2 diabetes is caused, mainly due to obesity. People with excessive body fat, especially concentrated within the abdomen, have an increased risk of Diabetes.
• Sedentary Lifestyle: Our ancestors had never lived an inactive life, but in today’s world, with technology and transportation taking over our lives, we have become dependent and lazy. Hence, the shift in lifestyle has also lead to the rise of Diabetes among us, Indians.
• Insulin Resistance: According to reports, Indians have been found to be more insulin resistant as compared to the rest of the global population. This can be due to various reasons from high blood pressure, obesity and abnormal glucose levels, which is also known as metabolic syndrome.
• Stress: We Indians loves to fret and stress over small matters, because we are so rooted to our traditions and families that we are constantly stressing over almost everything. The impact of stress, both physical and mental, along with lifestyle changes, has a strong effect of increasing incidence of type 2 diabetes among Indians.

Apart from the above mentioned reasons, even the lack of awareness amongst many of us has given rise to increase in the number of Diabetic patients in India. Many of them are not aware of the food habits that should be controlled in order to maintain a healthy lifestyle and prevent Diabetes. We will talk about Diabetes in detail in our upcoming articles. Stay tuned for that!