On World Health Day on Thursday, Prime Minister Narendra Modi took the opportunity to sensitise people about the silent killer diabetes, calling them to adopt a healthy lifestyle to defeat the chronic disease.
The WHO has declared “Beat Diabetes” as the theme for the World Health Day this year.
Modi wrote on Twitter that a healthy lifestyle is key to overcoming diabetes. “Our lifestyle is the biggest cause for diabetes. If every citizen of my country is healthy, then my country will be healthy. I call upon you to defeat diabetes, which plays host to so many diseases,” Modi said in his message to people on World Health Day which has theme ‘beat diabetes’ for this year.
Modi also put out an excerpt from last month’s “Mann ki Baat”, where he urged people to take some time out for outdoor activities and indulge in exercises such as yoga and running.
He said it was a matter of concern that even the games people play nowadays are mostly online.
“We have to revive offline culture. Reduced physical activity has led to serious complications and inevitably diabetes,” the Prime Minister said.
India, the diabetes capital of the world, had 6.5 crore diabetics in 2014. Three percent deaths in India annually occur due to the diabetes, Modi added.
While educating people on diabetes, Modi said everyone should be cautious about both Type 1 and Type 2 diabetes and that they could be prevented by adopting healthier lifestyles.
Echoing similar views, Health Minister JP Nadda at a consultation, organised by the WHO Country for Indiain in collaboration with the Health Ministry, too highlighted the significance of a healthy lifestyle to combat noncommunicable (NCD) diseases such as diabetes and hypertension.
As per the WHO, the overall risk of premature death among people with diabetes is at least double the risk of their non-diabetic peers. Globally, the prevalence of diabetes is estimated to be around 422 million (8.5 per cent of adults aged 20-79). In 2015, an estimated 7.8 per cent adults in India had diabetes.