Nine-year-old Parth Verma is just like any other kid down the block ? fun-loving and extremely bright. He makes no bones about hiding his passion for computers and cricket. A Class III student in Ryan International School, Noida, his life changed six years ago when he was diagnosed with Type 1 diabetes. Parth hardly understood what had happened ? why suddenly the visits to ?Dr Uncle? became more frequent. He understands it better now. Like computers and cricket, the Medtronic Paradigm 715 insulin pump has become a part of his life now. He has become adept at administering insulin himself. Thanks to the pump, at least he doesn?t have to calculate his insulin dose daily.
Parth is one of the 42 million people in India suffering from diabetes. If the World Health Organisation?s estimates stand correct, the same figure will shoot to 80 million by 2030! In short, one case is being diagnosed every 20 seconds. The epidemic proportions of the disease moved the United Nations to observe the World Diabetes Day (November 14) as a UN day from this year on. Given the alarming figures, it is certainly worth the while to guard ourselves against this silent killer.
Understanding diabetes
It is quite simple. Insulin (a hormone produced by the pancreas to control blood sugar) is the key here. Diabetes can be caused by too little insulin, resistance to insulin, or both. What does insulin have to do with sugar you may ask. Glucose, a type of sugar, enters our bloodstream when the food gets digested. It is insulin that helps convert the glucose into energy. When the pancreas doesn?t produce enough insulin the blood sugar level rises.
The more overweight you are the more insulin your body needs, to maintain its blood sugar level. The pancreas first increases the production of insulin but then begins to fail. The resulting high glucose level can damage the walls of blood vessels, which in turn disrupt blood circulation. This can take a terrible toll on the heart, nerves, kidneys and eyes as they are all dependent on oxygen in the blood.
To sift the grain from the chaff, here is what you need to know ? diabetes can lower life expectancy by a decade, it is one of the biggest causes for lower limb amputations, can lead to blindness, and further develop the risk of cardio vascular diseases and even result in a heart stroke.
The three major types
Type 1 diabetes usually strikes children. Characterised by the inability of the body to make little or no insulin, it makes it necessary for the patient to rely on regular injection shots. It is relatively rare ? only about 5% of the diabetics suffer from it as against 95% suffering from Type 2 diabetes. But according to UN estimates it is growing by 3% per year in children and adolescents.
Type 2 diabetes generally affects adults. Here, the body is either not able to make enough insulin or cannot use it properly. Blame sedentary lifestyle, obesity, and the couch potato cult. The worst is that ?almost half of the people with Type 2 diabetes are not even aware that they have diabetes, thus making them more prone to develop complications, says Dr Vinod Mittal, senior consultant physician & Diabetologist, Bayer Diabetes Care.
Gestational diabetes ?It affects women during their pregnancy and usually gets resolved after delivery of the baby. It is recognised for the first time during pregnancy. This condition occurs in approximately 4% of all pregnancies and nearly 40% of these women continue to suffer from it even after pregnancy. Thus it is very important to check blood glucose during early pregnancy or even before planning for pregnancy,? adds Mittal
risk only increases if
* You are above 45 years of age. But even the young are unable to escape its clutches now. ?Start getting a routine blood sugar test if you are above 25,? suggest Dr Arpit Jain, consultant, internal medicine, Artemis Health Institute.
* You have a family history of diabetes. You need to be careful if either of your parents or siblings suffers from it.
* You are obese and your body mass index (BMI) is greater than 23. BMI is weight divided by height
* You lead a sedentary lifestyle and hate to exercise. ?If you are a woman with a waist circumference of over 80 cm or a man with a waist circumference that is more than 90 cm, do something immediately,? says Dr S K Wangnoo, senior consultant endocrinologist, Apollo Centre for Diabetes, Obesity & Endocrinology, Indraprastha Apollo Hospital, Delhi.
* Your blood pressure and blood cholesterol levels are high.
The alarm should ring when
Type 2 diabetes develops slowly, therefore some people with high blood sugar may experience no symptoms at all. On the other hand patients with Type 1 diabetes usually develop symptoms over a short period of time. Most of the times the condition is diagnosed in an emergency setting. So, be on your guard if:
* You feel the urge to urinate frequently
* You feel excessive thirst or hunger.
* Climbing a flight of stairs makes you breathless.
* If you feel tired for no apparent reason
* You note a sudden weight loss despite feeling more hungry
* Your vision gets blurry
* Your infections heal slowly
CHECK LIST
Unfortunately there is no cure developed for diabetes so far but new research at Columbia University Medical Center suggests that a hormone from the skeleton, of all places, may influence how the body handles sugar.
* Ask your doctor what you must and must not eat and when. Maintain consistent meal timings.
?Children with diabetes need to have a balanced diet at regular intervals. Ideally the fat intake should be 20% of total energy and carbohydrates intake needs to be 55 to 70% of total energy intake,? says Anoop Tiwari, branch manager of the Talwalkar fitness center, New Delhi.
* ?Simple lifestyle modification can prevent 70% of them from falling prey to the disease ? for instance just 45 minutes of moderate-intensity physical activity, five days a week and a healthy diet can drastically reduce the risk of developing Type 2 diabetes,? says Wangnoo. But consult your physician before planning your regime because changes in exercise intensity or duration may need changes in diet and medication also.
* The diabetics are more prone to foot infection. So, be careful.
*A recent study by Delhi Diabetes Research Centre found that one in five children are overweight or obese. The findings have food habits to blame. ?Only 11% of the children prefer eating fruits. 66% of the fifth graders prefer fast food instead. Children in private schools start developing preferences for it from third grade itself and the pattern reaches its peak by fifth grade,? says Dr Ashok Jhingan, Delhi Diabetes Research Centre. So it?s difficult to say ?no? to that burger your child has been pleading for, but the deed has to be done.
