India, China diabetes capitals of the world

Chennai: India and China are known to be the diabetes capitals of the world and so to monitor our lifestyles has been found to be the need of the hour. By ‘preventing obesity and overweight in people so that their kidneys do not get affected’ being the theme this World Kidney Day, doctors in the state stress on the need for schools to lay focus on teaching children to eat right and live right.

“Youngsters should develop the concept of self-motivation. They should aim at eating healthy food and giving their body adequate exercise. Only if they have some kind of motivation or stimulation from within can they change,” said Dr Sunil Shroff, of the MOHAN Foundation, a not for profit organisation that promotes organ donation and transplantation. “There is a huge requirement for change. We need to prioritise our health and this has to be inculcated at an early age in schools among all children, especially those between the ages of five and 12 - which is a very impressionable age. All schools need to teach youngsters about healthy living and lifestyle,” he added.

Stating that children would learn best within their schools, Sridevi R, a health activist said, “Including lifestyle and eating habits in the syllabus of young children would create an impact on them.” With kidney diseases known to be a slow killer and the risks of developing it being higher among those who are overweight or obese, the possibility of over 600 million people being prone to kidney diseases is high. “There are 600 million people in the world who are obese. We must try and promote a healthy living. Diabetes and hypertension are very common in our country. 60 percent of all kidney failure is due to diabetes and hypertension. Therefore, the best solution is modifying our lifestyle habits,” added Sridevi.