Speakers, including academics, on Thursday emphasised the need for lifestyle modification for everyone to ensure a healthy and productive nation as the number of diabetes patients continues to rise in Bangladesh.
They made the recommendation at a press conference organised by the Diabetic Association of Bangladesh at the Ibrahim Cardiac Hospital meeting room to mark World Diabetes Day, to be observed on Friday.
This year, the day will be observed with the theme 鈥楥reating Awareness about Diabetes in the Workplace.鈥�
Diabetic Association of Bangladesh president and National Professor AK Azad Khan stressed the importance of creating awareness about diabetes in factories and other workplaces, as many people work eight to twelve hours or more at a stretch without physical activity and often consume fast food, which is harmful to health.
He said that employers should allocate at least 15 to 30 minutes for employees to exercise or walk and ensure that canteens provide healthy food.
Such initiatives, he added, would ultimately benefit both employers and the nation, as employees鈥� productivity would increase.
Expressing concern over the growing number of child diabetes patients in Bangladesh, the national professor noted that in developed countries, fast-food shops are not allowed near schools.
He urged parents and school authorities to arrange healthy meals for children and to avoid fast food.
Diabetic Association of Bangladesh secretary general Md Sayef Uddin said there are currently around 1.38 crore diabetes patients in Bangladesh, and the number is growing.
He said that 70 to 75 per cent of diabetes cases are preventable, but lifestyle modification is essential for that.
BIRDEM Academy director Faruque Pathan said a 2018 survey by the Diabetic Association of Bangladesh on one lakh adults in the country found that 25 per cent were diagnosed with diabetes.
Expressing concern, the director said that among the 65 lakh diabetes patients registered with more than 135 hospitals and centres of the association across the country, 95 per cent do not have their blood sugar under control.
Birdem General Hospital director general Professor Mirza Mahbubul Hasan said that 50 per cent people do not know they have diabetes, which has now been identified as a global epidemic.
To prevent the disease, Ibrahim Cardiac Hospital chief executive officer Sahela Nasrin recommended developing healthy habits from the age of six, walking 30 minutes daily, eating a calcium-rich diet, and consuming colourful vegetables.
To mark the day, the association has planned a two-day programme, starting with a road show at Shahbagh at 8:30am on Friday, followed by a heart, neuro, and vascular health campaign at reduced cost at Ibrahim Cardiac Hospital from 9:00am to 4:00pm.
There will also be free diabetes testing from 8:00am to 11:00am, along with discussion sessions and a blood donation programme on Saturday.
