NEWS HIGHLIGHTS
Theme : Health
Paper : GS - 2
India is often referred to as the ‘Diabetes Capital of the World as it accounts for 17% of the total number of diabetes patients in the world. World Diabetes day is observed on 14 November.
TABLE OF CONTENT
- Context
- Diabetes
- Type-2 Diabetes
- Insulin
- Diabetes in India
- Why are Indians more Prone to Diabetes?
Context : India is often referred to as the ‘Diabetes Capital of the World as it accounts for 17% of the total number of diabetes patients in the world. World Diabetes day is observed on 14 November.
Diabetes :
- Diabetes is a chronic (long-lasting) health condition that affects how our body turns food into energy.
- Diabetes is a metabolic disorder in which the body has high sugar levels for prolonged periods of time.
- The lack of insulin causes a form of diabetes.
- Type-I Diabetes: It is a medical condition that is caused due to insufficient production and secretion of insulin from the pancreas. Type 1 diabetes is thought to be caused by an autoimmune reaction (the body attacks itself by mistake). This reaction stops your body from making insulin. Approximately 5-10% of the people who have diabetes have type 1
- Type-2 diabetes: With type 2 diabetes, your body doesn’t use insulin well and can’t keep blood sugar at normal levels. About 90-95% of people with diabetes have type 2.
Type-2 Diabetes :
- Long term Condition: It is a long-term (chronic) condition which results in too much sugar circulating in the bloodstreams and poor response of insulin. Eventually, high blood sugar levels can lead to disorders of the circulatory, nervous and immune systems. Type 2 diabetes is an impairment in the way the body regulates and uses sugar (glucose) as a fuel. It is a defective response of Insulin
- More common in adults: Type 2 is more common in older adults, but the increase in the number of children with obesity has led to more cases of type 2 diabetes in younger people.
- Slow signs and symptoms: Signs and symptoms of type 2 diabetes often develop slowly. Symptoms include, Increased thirst, Frequent urination, Increased hunger, Unintended weight loss, Fatigue, Blurred vision, Slow-healing sores, Frequent infections etc. It develops over many years and is usually diagnosed in adults (but more and more in children, teens, and young adults).
- Cure for Type-2: There’s no cure for type 2 diabetes, but losing weight, eating well and exercising can help you manage the disease. If diet and exercise aren’t enough to manage your blood sugar, you may also need diabetes medications or insulin therapy.
Insulin :
- Insulin is a hormone produced by the pancreas.
- Insulin regulates the movement of sugar into your cells.
- Blood glucose levels are tightly controlled by insulin.
- When the blood glucose elevates (for example, after eating food), insulin is released from the pancreas to normalize the glucose level
Diabetes in India :
- People living with Diabetes in India: There are an estimated 77 million people with diabetes in India. Which means one in every 10 adults in India has diabetes. Half of those who have high blood sugar levels are unaware. Even among those who have been diagnosed with diabetes, only half of them have their blood sugar level under control.
- Rapid increase in younger population: According to the ICMR report, the prevalence of diabetes in India has increased by 64 percent over the quarter-century. prevalence among the younger population has also increased above 10%.
- Children impacting more: Worryingly, in India, a large number of children are also impacted by diabetes. Children are developing obesity and metabolic syndrome early because of the change in diets to more processed and fast foods.
- Projected Estimation: About 98 million Indians could have diabetes by 2030, these projections come from the International Diabetes Federation and the Global Burden of Disease project.
- Children impacting more: Worryingly, in India, a large number of children are also impacted by diabetes. Children are developing obesity and metabolic syndrome early because of the change in diets to more processed and fast foods.
Why are Indians more Prone to Diabetes ?
- Lifestyle changes: The current exponential rise of diabetes in India is mainly attributed to lifestyle changes. The rapid change in dietary patterns, physical inactivity, and increased body weight, especially the accumulation of abdominal fat, are some of the primary reasons for increased prevalence.
- Ethnically more prone: Ethnically, Indians seem to be more prone to diabetes as compared to the Caucasians, although the precise mechanisms are not well known. We Indians have a greater degree of insulin resistance which means our cells do not respond to the hormone insulin. And when compared to Europeans, our blood insulin levels also tend to rise higher and more persistently when we eat carbohydrates.
- Greater genetic predisposition: The epidemic increase in diabetes in India along with various studies on migrant and native Indians clearly indicate that Indians have an increased predilection to diabetes which could well be due to a greater genetic predisposition to diabetes in Indians.
- Decrease in traditional diets: At the same time, the increased ‘westernization’, especially in the metros and the larger cities, has led to a drastic change in our dietary patterns. Indian diets have always been carbohydrate-heavy and now the reliance on refined sugars, processed food in the form of quick bites and fuss-free cooking and trans fatty acids are creating havoc.
- Mechanization of day-to-day work: With the increasing availability of machines to do our work, there’s also a substantial drop in day-to-day activities.
- Consumption of high calorie food and lack of physical activities: Obesity, especially central obesity and increased visceral fat due to physical inactivity, and consumption of a high-calorie/high-fat and high sugar diets, thus become major contributing factors.
- Rapid urbanization: Currently, India is undergoing a rapid epidemiological transition with increased urbanization. The current urbanization rate is 35% compared to 15% in the 1950’s and this could have major implications on the present and future disease patterns in India with particular reference to diabetes and coronary artery disease.
- Rural-urban migration: The rural migration to urban areas and associated stress plays a significant role in lifestyle change.
FAQs :
1. What is Insulin ?
Answer : Insulin is a hormone produced by the pancreas.Insulin regulates the movement of sugar into your cells.Blood glucose levels are tightly controlled by insulin.
2. What is Diabetes?
Answer : Diabetes is a chronic (long-lasting) health condition that affects how our body turns food into energy.Diabetes is a metabolic disorder in which the body has high sugar levels for prolonged periods of time.The lack of insulin causes a form of diabetes.