Mitra Health

20/07/2016

65-70% are D deficient. Here's why you should worry
http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/magazines/panache/65-70-indians-are-vitamin-d-deficient-heres-why-you-should-worry/articleshow/53285591.cms

For starters, Vitamin D is not a simple vitamin. It is a steroid hormone that impacts virtually every cell in the body.

07/04/2016

is one of the fastest growing lifestyle diseases in India. Sedentary lifestyle, unhealthy eating habits are few of the reasons for this disease. “India has over 6 crore people suffering from Diabetes and has over 8 crore people in pre-diabetes. Many are undiagnosed”

There are two main types of Diabetes:

Type 1: Diabetes is usually diagnosed in children or young adults. This type of diabetes is always treated with insulin injections.

Type 2 Diabetes: occurs when not enough insulin is produced by the body for it to function properly, or when the body’s cells do not react to insulin. Type 2 Diabetes is often associated with Obesity.

Why it is important to prevent yourself for diabetes?
People with diabetes have an increased risk of developing a number of serious health problems. Diabetes is a leading cause of heart disease, blindness, kidney failure and lower limb amputations.

Diabetes Diagnosis:
Blood test is used to diagnose diabetes. There are two tests. Fasting and post prandial glucose levels and HbA1c. HbA1C is a better indicator as it gives 3-month average blood glucose value.
When it is important to go for diabetes screening:
• Have a family history of diabetes.
• Age over 30
• If you are overweight
• Symptoms of heart problems such as high blood pressure.

HealthSmart Wellness offers best of preventive care with complete diagnostic screening that can test for diabetes (HbA1c, Average blood glucose) along with other health parameters and doctor interpretation of report. The blood testing service is provided by NABL and CAP accredited laboratory.

Introducing HealthSmart Wellness Mobile App . You can now track your Diabetes on your Smartphone. Download HealthSmart App from Google Play Store.


For more HealthSmart wellness package, visit www.healthsmart.co.in

07/04/2016

मधुमेह ( ) एक जान लेवा बीमारी है । भारत में ६ करोड़ से ज्यादा लोग मधुमेह से ग्रस्त हैं। और 8 करोड़ से ज्यादा लोग मधुमेह से पहले की स्टेज से ग्रस्त हैं।

खाली पेट खून में ग्लूकोस की जांच करवाने पर अगर ग्लूकोस की मात्रा 126 mg /dl या उससे अधिक आये तो यह मधुमेह का संकेत है। ऐसे ही Hb A1C की मात्रा 8 % से ऊपर हो तो यह मधुमेह का संकेत है। 6 % से 8 % के बीच मात्रा , मधुमेह से पहले की स्टेज (pre diabetes ) का संकेत है।

मधुमेह के दो प्रमुख कारण हैं
टाइप 1 - यह बच्चों में या कम उम्र वाले लोगों में ज्यादा पाया जाता है। इस टाइप के मधुमेह में चिन्ह जल्दी उत्पन्न होते हैं। इसके इलाज़ में इन्सुलिन के इंजेक्शन देते हैं।

टाइप 2 - इस टाइप के मधुमेह में इन्सुलिन की मात्रा बहुत कम हो जाती है या शरीर में इन्सुलिन अपना काम नहीं कर पाता। इस टाइप का मधुमेह मोटे लोगों में ज्यादा होता है और अधेड़ उम्र में ज्यादा पाया जाता है।

मधुमेह के चिन्ह

• ज्यादा पेशाब जाना
• ज्यादा भूख लगना
• ज्यादा प्यास लगना
• बिना किसी कारण के वज़न घटना
• धुंधला दिखना
• चोट का धीरे धीरे भरना
• हर समय थकावट महसूस करना
• हाथ पैरों में झनझनाहट या सुन्न होना
मधुमेह से बचाव क्यों ज़रूरी
• तीन में से दो मधुमेह के रोगी दिल की बीमारी या लकवे से ग्रस्त हो जाते हैं
• आँखें की रोशनी कम हो जाती है। अगर कंट्रोल नहीं हो तो अंधापन तक आ जाता है
• गुर्दे ख़राब हो जाते हैं
• नसें कमज़ोर हो जाती हैं
• मांस पेशियों में दर्द होता है

मधुमेह का डायग्नोसिस

ख़ून क़ी जाँच से मधुमेह की पुष्टि की जा सकती है।
• खाली पेट, खून में ग्लूकोस की जांच
• HB A1C- यह टेस्ट पिछले तीन महीने की ग्लूकोस की मात्रा बतलाता है

मधुमेह का टेस्ट करवाना कब ज़रूरी

• उम्र 30 साल से ऊपर
• आपके माता पिता या बहन भाई किसी एक को मधुमेह की शिकायत हो
• आपका वज़न ज्यादा है
• कमर का माप पुरुषों में ३७ से ज्यादा और महिलाओं में ३१. ५ से ज्यादा
• आपको बड़ा हुआ ब्लड प्रेशर रहता है
• आपको दिल की बीमारी है

हम अपनी सेहत का ख्याल तभी रख सकते हैं जब हमें उसके प्रति ख़तरे का एहसास हो। एक साधारण ख़ून की जाँच से मधुमेह के प्रति ख़तरे का पता चल सकता है। HealthSmart पैकेज में मधुमेह से सम्बन्धित टेस्ट मौज़ूद हैं। इसके अलावा विटामिन डी (Vitamin D), कोलेस्ट्रॉल (Cholesterol),थाइरोइड (Thyroid) अन्यादि की जाँचें भी हेल्थ स्मार्ट पैकेज में मौज़ूद हैं।

अधिक जानकारी के लिए HealthSmart website www.healthsmart.co.in पर जाएँ या HealthSmart विशेषज्ञ से संपर्क करें।

स्वस्थ जीवन ही संपन्न जीवन है।

21/02/2016

Poor diet causes more premature deaths than smoking and drinking.

Unhealthy eating has been named as the most common cause of premature death around the globe, new data has revealed. A poor — which involves eating too few vegetables, fruits, nuts and grains and too much red meat, salt and sugar — was shown to be a bigger killer than smoking and alcohol. But for the UK, eating is still pipped to the top spot of high-risk factors in early death by smoking. Low levels of activity are at number 5, and alcohol use is at number 9.
The Institute for Metrics and Evaluation (IHME) in the US has found that high pressure, to which diet, exercise and are key factors, is the biggest cause of premature death in countries across the world. And unhealthy eating overall, characterised by high consumption of red meat and sugar-sweetened beverages, contributed to more deaths than any other factor — because they contribute towards ischemic , and .

The study was the most recent update on the 2010 report on the Global Burden of Disease, considered the most authoritative work on the causes of ill-health. "There's great potential to improve health by avoiding certain risks like smoking and poor diet as well as tackling risks like air pollution," IHME director Dr Christopher Murray told The Guardian. "The challenge for policymakers will be to use what we know to guide efforts and health policies."

Data from 108 countries from 1990 to 2013 was used in the study, and the number of risk factors in premature deaths was increased from 67 to 79, to provide a broader study. High-income countries tended to have smoking as their number one cause of premature death. In India and elsewhere in south and south-east Asia, air pollution was a leading problem. In Latin America and West Asia, meanwhile, obesity came out as the biggest risk for poor health.

01/01/2016

स्ट्रेस ( ) से कोर्टिसोल ( ), शुगर ( ), अस्थमा और दौरे ( ) जैसी बीमारियों का प्रभाव

स्ट्रेस यानि कि दिमागी टेंशन आजकल लोगों में बहुत ज्यादा व्याप्त है। लोग तरह तरह की परेशानियों से रोज़ गुज़रते हैं। स्ट्रेस किसी भी चीज़ से हो सकता है जैसे जॉब में टेंशन, रोज़ की भाग दौड़ ,अपने किसी का ज़िन्दगी से चले जाना इत्यादि। पर अगर यही स्ट्रेस ज्यादा समय के लिए रहे तो यह हमारे शरीर पर बुरा प्रभाव डालता है। आपने नोट किया होगा की स्ट्रेस में हमें भूख ज्यादा लगती है। शरीर में कोर्टिसोल की मात्रा बढ़ जाती है जिससे हमें वसा युक्त और अधिक चीनी खाने की इच्छा होती है। ऐसे में शरीर में ज्यादा वसा जमा हो जाती है। इसका दुष्प्रभाव खून की नालियों के बंद होने और हार्ट अटैक के रूप में सामने आता है।

स्ट्रेस से हमारे सोने पर भी प्रभाव पड़ता है। हम ठीक से सो नहीं पाते और हमारा शरीर बहुत सी बिमारियों का घर बन जाता है। स्ट्रेस से लड़ने के लिए हमारा शरीर बहुत तरह के केमिकल्स बनाता है। इन केमिकल्स की अधिक मात्रा होने से सर दर्द बढ़ जाता है । बाल झड़ने लगते हैं। शरीर में शुगर की मात्रा बढ़ जाती है। बढ़ता हुआ स्ट्रेस शरीर में बढ़ते हुए ब्लड प्रेशर का प्रमुख कारण है। ऐसे में दिमाग की नस के फटने का खतरा बढ़ जाता है।

ज्यादा स्ट्रेस जल्दी बुढ़ापे की ओर अग्रसर करता है। शरीर लड़ते लड़ते थक जाता है। इसका प्रभाव सेल्स और दुसरे अंगों पर पड़ता है। स्ट्रेस से अस्थमा और दौरे जैसी बीमारियों का खतरा भी बढ़ जाता है।

रोज़ाना व्यायाम करना और पौष्टिक आहार लेना स्ट्रेस को बहुत हद तक कम करता है।

19/12/2015

http://businessworld.in/article/Healthcare-Unhealthy-India/18-12-2015-89503/ #.VnUP7lAK0pQ.linkedin


Become a doctor, says a hindi sign posted on a two-storeyed building in a narrow lane in a Lucknow slum. It touts six-month courses for “bachelor’s degrees” in Electronic Medicine (BEM) and Magnetic Medicine (BMM), and a one-year MD. The eligibility requirement: Class 10 pass/fail. There’s the name of a doctor (BEM, of course) to contact for admission.

Such signs are no rarity in India, where public health is grossly neglected. Only 30 per cent of Indians have access to modern medicine, and most of its 1.2 billion people consult quacks. ranks 112th out of 190 countries in the World Report on key health indicators. The hope that flared when the current government came to power, promising a robust health policy, is fading. The Narendra government had promised to implement the National Health Assurance Mission (NHAM), which envisaged universal health coverage and higher public spending on health, but it has now put it on hold, citing fund constraints.

India is set to become the global capital of non-communicable ailments such as , problems, and . Preparations to tackle sudden outbreaks of communicable diseases aren’t satisfactory, either. India’s public health spending, at 1 per cent of GDP, is among the lowest in the world. True, it has made some progress over the last few decades, including the eradication of polio, and a slight improvement in child and maternal mortality rates. But continued negligence on the policy front has ensured that India is one of just five countries that are home to 60 per cent of the world’s one billion extremely poor people.

Public health – a top priority in most countries – is yet to earn its due recognition in India. Primary health care is especially neglected, leading to the progression of illnesses that could be treated or prevented cheaply, into chronic ailments. This adds to India’s overall disease burden.

India’s limited health insurance scheme, the Rashtriya Swasthya Bima Yojna, under the ministry of labour, provides coverage only for families below the poverty line. By contrast, China rolled out universal health coverage five years ago. It spends about five per cent of its GDP on public health. Even poorer neighbours, such as Bangladesh and Sri Lanka, have made health care a basic right, and their governments are obligated to provide free health coverage.

In the absence of a proper primary healthcare ecosystem – an integrated approach to improve quality of life through health awareness, sanitation, predictive and preventive healthcare and treatment for basic ailments for all – India is on the edge of collapse, experts say.

Policy Reforms vs Political Will
In India’s complex administrative environment, different centres of power handle social development projects. The country has always faced challenges in implementing healthcare and education reforms. “India never suffered from lack of ideas. But lack of political will has always been a challenge,” says former health secretary Sujatha Rao.

She was instrumental in several policy recommendations as health secretary and as secretary in the department of AIDS Control. She says implementation of systemic reform in health care is long overdue, to meet the objectives of equity, efficiency and quality. To achieve them, she says, “The central and state governments need to make strategic interventions with strong determination to reach the benefits to the poor.”

Health is a state subject, so implementation of reforms often has varied outcomes. Some states have progressed substantially, while others lag due to poor policies and underutilisation of funds. Key public health challenges are clean water, sanitation, persistent malnutrition among women and children, and primary healthcare mechanisms.

In the 12th five-year plan, the health ministry estimated an expenditure requirement of Rs 10.7 lakh crore to address these. But the allocation was just Rs 3.8 lakh crore, and at the end of fourth year, only Rs 30,000 crore has been disbursed.

India is well below the global average in terms of hospital beds (0.9 per 1,000 people) and doctors (1 per 1,700 people). Health ministry data indicates there are around 650,000 doctors, but another 400,000 are needed by 2020.

Policy Doldrums
NHAM was to be rolled out in 2015. The proposal, whose estimated cost had escalated to some Rs 18.5 billion in the last five years, was cleared by the Prime Minister’s Office, as it was part of Modi’s election manifesto. But the policy is stalled as the government seeks to slash the health budget.
The national pharmaceutical policy was announced in 2013 after a long wait. While it helped reduce prices of essential medicines, the impact is limited as medicines account for less than a third of healthcare costs in India.

Hospital costs are unregulated, and most people are uninsured, so the average Indian still has poor access to healthcare. The National Clinical Establishment Act, 2010, which aims to control the quality and cost of services in hospitals and clinics, is a non-starter, due to strong resistance from the industry.

The Modi government created a ministry for AAYUSH (Ayurveda, Yoga, Unani, Siddha and Homeopathy), but a policy framework for enforceable standards is nowhere in sight.

Despite warnings by international experts that India’s inaction on public health carries serious risks, and despite the hopes raised by the Modi government, the country has yet to formulate a comprehensive policy and commit funds.

“I don’t see any new policies, any new ideas, any significant public commitment, and most importantly no financial commitment to the health sector in India,” said Richard Horton, editor-in-chief of the leading global medical journal The Lancet, in a recent media interview. The Lancet recently published a research article on India’s negligence on public health policies.

The Modi government has announced reforms in sectors such as infrastructure, energy, manufacturing, and aviation, and launched high-profile campaigns such as Swachh Bharat, Digital India, and Make in India, but it has done nothing for the crucial healthcare sector. “Swachh Bharat is good. But it doesn’t make much sense in a country with no basic sanitation for the majority,” says Gautam Sen, former member of the Board of Governors, Medical Council of India (MCI).
The Lancet study warns about a “collapse” if India fails to invest in combating non-communicable diseases such as diabetes and heart problems. The Lancet article, written by a group of global health experts, has also strongly criticised Modi for not delivering on his poll promise of universal health coverage.

The Lancet’s editor was also quoted by media in October saying “Health is an issue of national security for India, but the new administration hasn’t taken it seriously.” The Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), a global forum that promotes policies on economic and social well-being worldwide, cautioned in its 2014 assessment of the Indian economy that it sees India’s poor health outcomes as a major developmental challenge. “India lags in healthcare outcomes not only by OECD standards, but also by the standards of the developing world,” it noted.

High Disease Burden
India has 63 million people with diabetes, and 60 per cent of the world’s heart patients. Several million Indians die each year from communicable and non-communicable diseases. India’s disease burden is much higher than that of other emerging economies such as China, Indonesia, Brazil, Mexico, and Sri Lanka. According to 2012 figures, there were 253 deaths per 100,000 population in India due to communicable diseases in one year. The global average is 178.

A 2010 World Bank estimate states that India loses 6 per cent of its GDP annually because of premature deaths and preventable illness. The OECD assessment notes that while India’s economy is growing, and millions have been lifted out of poverty, progress in improving health outcomes has been slow.

A study by the World Economic Forum and Harvard School of Public Health predicts that India will lose at least $4.5 trillion before 2030 because of the economic impact of non-communicable diseases. Of this, $2.17 trillion will be due to cardiac diseases alone.

The main reason for India’s poor healthcare outcomes, according to OECD, is the low level of public investment in preventive health measures such as sanitation and waste management, and also in medical care. The OECD report notes that even where public health facilities exist in India, they are of poor quality.

“It’s not the decision to set up half a dozen more AIIMS (All India Institute of Medical Sciences), but the decision to strengthen primary care mechanisms in every village, covering each and every citizen, which can help drastically reduce the country’s disease burden,” says former MCI board member Sen, who is also chairman of the College of Surgeons of India and founder of primary healthcare chain Healthspring.

Medical Education
Hundreds of private medical colleges have mushroomed across the country, offering MBBS and MD courses for students who can make up in capitation money (Rs 75 lakh to Rs 2 crore each) what they lack in merit. The quality of doctors they churn out is often comparable to the quacks who “graduate” from that institution in the shanty in Lucknow.

Medical education was opened up to the private sector with the aim of increasing the supply of professionals. But exorbitant capitation fees force new doctors to recover costs by working with private hospitals in metros, and to choose lucrative super-specialisation.

Many doctors don’t want to work in rural areas – a major hurdle in primary healthcare coverage. When Ghulam Nabi Azad was health minister, in the previous government, the health ministry tried making rural service mandatory for all government medical college graduates. But there was resistance from the medical community, which cited inadequate facilities at primary health centres as a sticking point.

“It’s a vicious circle. The managements of private medical colleges pay crores to get ill-equipped institutions approved by the government, aspiring doctors pay huge fees to get admission, and the poor patients are forced to pay the doctors and hospitals through the nose for treatment,” says former MCI member Sen.

The MCI is the government body that regulates medical education in the country. But the 2010 arrest of MCI president Ketan Desai on serious corruption charges by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) led the government to dissolve the body. The CBI caught Desai accepting a Rs 2-crore as bribe to turn a blind eye to an attempt by Gyan Sagar Medical College, Patiala, to enrol more students than it was allowed to.

“Unless private medical education and hospitals are made accountable, and standards under the direct regulations of the government, one can’t expect healthcare goals to reach the needy fully and effectively,” says former health secretary Rao.

The industry-politician nexus ensures that eight reform documents submitted by various expert committees, appointed by governments between 2006 and 2015, to improve India’s dated medical education system continue to gather dust in the health ministry. Meanwhile, a hurried attempt is on to bring the tainted Ketan Desai back into the reconstituted MCI.

After the charges, Desai was elected to the Gujarat University senate as a doctor. The university, which can nominate a member to the MCI, has endorsed him. Sources attribute the abrupt removal of former health minister Harshvardhan and a former health secretary, to their opposition to the medical college approval racket, but this could not be confirmed officially.

Government on the Defensive
India has made progress on some indicators, such as child and maternal mortality. Infant mortality has dropped to 48 per 1,000 live births from 126 in 1990, and maternal mortality to 190 per 100,000 live births from 560. But it is a far from the millennium development goals for 2015, of 42 and 109 respectively.

“New policies and ideas are necessary but it is equally important to consolidate work being done to ensure that services reach the people they are meant for,” the health ministry said in response to foreign criticism that the government is ignoring health issues. “Launching an alphabet soup of programmes... and not being able to implement them... is a disservice to the people we serve,” wrote Rakesh Kumar, joint secretary in the health ministry, in a letter to The Lancet’ editor. The ministry maintained that no programme had been curtailed due to lack of funds, and said the government had rationalised funding.

As for a new policy, India is yet to hear from the government.

unni@businessworld.in


(This story was published in BW | Businessworld Issue Dated 28-12-2015)

The country may lose $4.5 trillion by 2030 due to non-communicable diseases alone, but the government is doing little about it, , healthcare, magazine 28 december 2015, ministry for AAYUSH, aiims, government

24/11/2015

Living Healthy with Ayurveda in the age of Computers and Air Conditioners (AC's) by Dr. Shrada Nayak

Computers and Air Conditioners have become an essential part of our life. But on the contrary it has affected our Human health. There are many ailments which are on the sharp rise due to the continuous use of computers and air conditioners.

Vata, Pitta and kapha are three essential components of the body which maintain and regulate health. Continuous sitting in front of computer, poor posture with constant use of Air conditioners aggravate Vata and thereby the related conditions like Degenerative Spinal problems like Muscular spasm, Lumbar Spondylosis, Cervical Spondylosis.

Long hours of work with irregular diet, constant deadline stress has led to Pittaja problems like acidity, migraine, accelerated aging with early graying of hair, Baldness; Kaphaja problems like obesity, Respiratory problems, rhinitis. Prolonged use of Computer has also resulted in Computer Vision Syndrome, Carpel tunnel Syndrome, refractive errors etc .Sedentary job with lack of exercise and immense stress has also led to increase in Lipid profile, Heart attacks, Diabetes, Hypertension, Depression, Anxiety, Insomnia.

How to maintain health

A change in life style with regular health checkups would definitely reduce much of these problems.

* Regular exercise in the form of walking is must. AC cannot be avoided in the office but other things like physical exercise can be done, yearly checkups are essential. Even in the office after 2 hours one should just walk around for a minute and then resume back to work.

* Also change the posture every 2 hours e.g. change the position of laptop a bit after every 2 hours so that automatically the neck posture also changes.

• Have food at regular intervals.
• At night avoid AC
• Try to stick to homemade food
• Cut down on unhealthy snacks.

Regular Panchakarma procedures like Basti for Vata during rainy season, Virechana for Pitta during Sharad ritu and Vamana during Vasanta ritu for Kapha will keep the doshas in harmony.

Degenerative diseases are due to aggravation of Vata so to pacify Vata regular full body massage with oil, mainly sesame based Ayurveda oils is essential. Vata causes dryness and eventually degeneration in different parts like spine, joints etc , so at least weekend oil massage is very essential. Constipation should be avoided by taking good fibrous food stuffs. Herbs like Ashvagandha, Guduchi, Eranda, Kulattha are to be taken. Calcium and Vitamin D rich diet can be taken to avoid osteoporosis. Flaxseeds, Gond or D**k, Finger Millet or Ragi are other stuffs to maintain bonehealth.

Insomnia, disturbed sleep are also a resultant of Vata dosha. Shirodhara is very useful here. Glaring at the monitor for long hours also results in early refractive errors, Cataract, Macular degeneration, Retinal degeneration and dry eye.

Regular palming, looking at a far object every hour for a minute, eye exercises are of great help. For dry eyes tarpana, a panchakarma procedure once a year is very helpful.

To avoid Pittaja disorders intake of food at regular intervals, sleep at proper time and undisturbed sleep, nonspicy food are all important. Consumption of Aavla , Yastimadhu, Shatavari is beneficial. Shirodhara is helpful in hypertension as well.

For Kaphaja diseases good amount of exercise, Fasting at times is recommended to improve metabolism. For people who are prone to upper respiratory infections, Sinusitis, should regularly take hot water.

Avoid day sleep. As prevelance of diabetes is very high intake of Methi seeds, Karela in diet is very beneficial . Spices like Shunthi, Pippali, Black pepper,Triphala, Turmeric are very useful.

Yoga
Yoga is to be done everyday as routine to ward off these ailments. At least once a day neck exercises like sidebending, forward bending, rotation is to be done to avoid cervical spondylosis. Backward bending exercises, Sharabhasana, prevents Lumbar spondylosis. Pranayama helps in withstanding stress and builds mental tolerance. Also it is very helpful in respiratory infections, builds up the vital capacity of the lungs.

24/11/2015

http://zeenews.india.com/news/health/healthy-eating/handful-of-walnuts-a-day-may-keep-diabetes-away_1825706.html

The study revealed that the diet was associated with improvements in blood vessel cell wall function and 'bad' after six months, although it didn't have any impact on blood pressure or levels.
In the study, researchers assigned 112 people to either following a diet with dietary counselling designed to curb calorie intake, or one without. Within these two groupings, participants were randomly assigned to the daily inclusion of 56 g of walnuts in their diet or the complete avoidance of walnuts for a period of six months.

After a three month interlude, the intervention arms were reversed.
The 31 men and 81 women, who were aged between 25 and 75, were all at high risk of developing diabetes.
After taking account of influential factors, such as age, calorie and fatty acid intakes, and the amount of regular exercise taken, the analysis indicated that adding walnuts to the daily diet was associated with improved diet quality.

A walnut-rich diet was also associated with significantly improved endothelial cell function, irrespective of dietary counselling to curb calorie intake.
The researcher concluded that their data suggested that inclusion of walnuts in the diet, with or without dietary counselling to adjust caloric intake, improved diet quality and might also improve [endothelial function], and reduce total and LDL cholesterol in this sample of adults at risk for .
The study is published in the Journal BMJ Open Diabetes Research and Care.

A new study has revealed that eating a handful of walnuts everyday can lead to better diet and improvements in health risk factors among people at high risk of diabetes

16/11/2015

http://complete-health-and-happiness.com/sugar-is-definitely-toxic-a-new-study-says/

Fat was the food villain these past few decades but sugar is quickly muscling in to take its place. As rates of sugar-related disorders such as diabetes, obesity and heart disease climb, many experts believe that when Americans rid themselves of fat, they simply replaced it with sugar in all its for…

16/11/2015

SRL , India’s leading global diagnostic chain recently released a three-year long pan data mining survey (2012 – 2014) on Hba1C tests that revealed that around 66.11 % Indian children possess abnormal levels of sugar in their body. This test is done to check and monitor response to diabetes therapy and diagnose prediabetes and diabetes in children. Rapid urbanisation, change in eating habits and shifting more focus to indoor activities have resulted in dramatic lifestyle changes leading to a chronic condition associated with abnormally high levels of sugar in . (Read: Tips to manage type 1 diabetes in children)

is becoming a silent epidemic and according to the World Health Organization, 80% of all new cases of diabetes are predicted to occur in the developing countries by 2025. In 2012, an estimated 1.5 million deaths were directly caused by diabetes and more than 80% of diabetes deaths occur in low and middle-income countries. It is also projected that diabetes will be the 7th leading cause of death in 2030. (Read: Could your child be at risk of suffering from diabetes?)

Of the approximate 17 thousand samples of children screened during this period for the analysis by SRL Diagnostics, 66.11 % of the total samples had abnormal levels. It was also found that a total of 51.76 % samples having abnormal levels was found in male children. The analysis showed that prevalence of this abnormality was highest among children in the western zone of the country.

Zone Wise Analysis of SRL’s study:
Western Zone had the highest percentage of abnormality with 68.48% while eastern and northern zone had 61.48 % and 64.71% respectively. Among the four zones, southern India showed the lowest percentage of abnormality with 54.95 % percent.
Key findings of the study:
Test conducted on childThTest conducted on children between the age group of 0-15 years
Western India has the highest percentage of abnormality while the lowest percentage of abnormality, among all was seen in southern India
People with diabetes are two to four times more likely to have including children
Dr Leena Chatterjee, Director – Fortis SRL Labs & SRL Strategic Initiatives says, “Diabetes has emerged as a major burden for India over the last two decades. This disease further leads to other disorders which are afflicted with children like obesity, obstructive sleep apnoea, nausea, drowsiness, weight loss, frequent urination in large amounts etc. As they reach adulthood, the problem related to kidneys and strokes starts amalgamating. These days, even Type 2 diabetes is being easily developed in children which has been mostly common in adults. One of the reason is it being hard to monitor what children are eating when they are at school or when they visit friends. Children and teenagers who are diagnosed with Type 2 diabetes have a short life expectancy. It is advised that those with Type 2 diabetes in their families must visit their physicians frequently and make healthy choices earlier in life.’

‘One should not be alarmed with a diagnosis of pre-diabetes. It is a warning sign and a chance to make changes for the better. We understand that it’s pretty difficult to cut out sugar completely, but one can start by skipping it in milk, choosing non-sugary breakfasts, avoiding juice beverages, and limiting bread, pasta and rice.’ added Dr. Chatterjee

It is essential that children and adolescents get themselves tested if they are overweight with body weight exceeding 120% of the ideal weight or they have positive family history among first and second degree relatives and if they have signs of insulin resistance.

Photo source: Getty images

http://www.thehealthsite.com/news/is-your-kid-one-of-the-66-11-of-indian-children-that-are-at-risk-of-diabetes/

The Hba1C tests that revealed that around 66.11 % Indian children possess abnormal levels of sugar in their body.