Diabetes can be curbed by lifestyle

The alarming incidence of diabetes in India can be curbed by lifestyle modification measures and dietary changes, leading city-based Endocrinologist has said.

"This necessarily involves early identification of the high-risk individuals," Dr Shashank R Joshi, Chairman of the recently held 8th International Symposium on Diabetes and also a senior Endocrinologist of Lilavati hospital said. Lifestyle modification involves increasing energy expenditure through supervised exercises, stopping smoking or tobacco consumption and cutting down on alcohol intake, he said as the outcome of the symposium. "Sedentary habits like watching television for hours and long hours of physical inactivity contribute significantly to the rising incidence of diabetes," Joshi said. During the two day deliberation, doctors across the board, stressed on the need of having a well-balanced dietary plan in place. They also suggested foodstuffs like green leafy vegetables, tomatoes, cucumber, radish, bitter-gourd and its juice, papaya, oranges, bran pulses, sprouted moong, butter milk, sour chutneys, pepper and Jeera (cumin) water and jamun fruit should form an integral part of a balanced diet plan. At present, India is home to more than 40 million diabetics. This figure is expected to reach 80 million by 2030, said Dr Anoop Mishra, Director and Head, Department of Diabetes & Metabolic Diseases, Fortis Hospitals, New Delhi. As Indians are affected at a younger age compared to the westerners, the disease period is longer and the chances of complications are more that include strokes and heart disease, Mishra said.