Screening camp at Karachi Press Club: Prevalence of diabetes among journalists highlighted

Majority of working journalists are either on the borderline of having diabetes or have become completely diabetics due to their unhealthy lifestyles, obesity or for being overweight, lack of exercise and use of tobacco, it emerged at the end of a two-day diabetes screening camp at Karachi Press Club (KPC) on Wednesday.
The diabetes screening camp had been organised by the health committee of Karachi Press Club (KPC) in collaboration with Baqai Institute of Diabetology and Endocrinology (BIDE) in connection with World Diabetes Day (WDD) 2016 theme "Eyes on Diabetes". Around 200 working journalists, KPC members and employees were screened for diabetes, of which around 25 percent were emerged as diabetics but unfortunately, 26 of them were not even aware that they had diabetes and they needed to take regular medicines and modify their lifestyles so that they could avoid getting heart attacks, stroke, renal failure, blindness and other complications.
"Diabetes is a silent killer and that is why, this year's theme is 'Eyes on Diabetes'. Screening help those who are on the borderline to either avoid or delay having diabetes while those who have the disease, can control and manage it with medicines, insulin and lifestyle modification," Director of the BIDE and eminent diabetologist Dr Abdul Basit said.
Dr Abdul Basit who spared his valuable time to conduct the diabetes screening camp, to provide consultation services and hold an awareness session for journalists regarding diabetes, said no credible data regarding people with diabetes was available in Pakistan, and the survey whose figures are quoted at the moment was conducted in 1994.
"We also don't know about the prevalence of diabetes in Pakistan because many of us don't believe in screening ourselves for diabetes and other diseases. We should not only adopt a healthy lifestyle instead of living a sedentary life but also get screened for diabetes regularly after 35 years of age," he added.
Experts believe that Pakistan men, who are more than 35 years of age, have over 35 inches of waist and have family history of diabetes should get themselves for the metabolic disorder because these are the risk factors for the diabetes. BIDE experts including Dr Zafar Abbassi, Dr Nida and Dr Abro examined the medical reports of the working journalists and advised those on borderline to indulge in daily walk for at least 35 minutes, eat balanced and healthy food with lots of vegetables and quit smoking and other unhealthy habits that lead to causing diabetes.-PR