Government of Karnataka invites private sector company Diabetacare to devise solutions to curb rise of diabetes in state

New Delhi, April 8 2016: As part of its efforts to raise awareness about diabetes and the need for regular preventive checkups, leading Indian medical start-up Diabetacare conducted a day-long mega health event, where its nurses and nutritionists screenedover 1,500 government officials and employees. The event was organized at Vidhan Soudha Banquet Hall to mark the World Health Day. This year the focus is on pertinent theme of the enormous health burden imposed by diabetes and the need to control and prevent it.

World Health Organization estimates that in 2012, around 1.5 million deaths worldwide were directly caused by diabetes, with more than 80% of these deaths occurring in low- and middle-income countries like India.

Following healthy lifestyles and keeping your key indicators like blood sugar, blood pressure and cholesterol under check are crucial elements of diabetes control. However, in India, awareness about the disorder, its risks factors and potential complications remains abysmally low. This often leads people to believe that diabetes is not a life-threatening disorder.

“With India seeing an unprecedented rise of diabetes in people of all age groups, it is incumbent upon the government to provide necessary interventions and solutions. With Diabetacare, we will ensure that people of our state have enhanced access to comprehensive diabetes screening and the ability to seek holistic advanced care options”said ShriU.T. Khader, Hon'ble Minister for Health & Family Welfare, Govt. of Karnataka.

Taking a proactive approach, the state governmentinvited Diabetacare to help devise solutions that will benefit the people of Karnatakathrough effective clinical management of this chronic conditionas well as through preventative care.

At the health camp at Vidhan Soudha, experts fromDiabetacare held health screenings of people above 35 years of age, and educated them about the importance of maintaining vital statistics such as weight, blood pressure and lifestyle habits under control.
“The alarming rise of diabetes in India can be checked via proactive interventions like the one made by Government of Karnataka. Because of the massive scale of the problem, it is vital that the state and the private sector work together to devise and deploy solutions”said Dr Sanjiv Agarwal, Founder &MD, Diabetacare.

People who have a family history of diabetes are more predisposed to the disorder as compared to individuals who do not have a family history. For this reason, such people are advised special precautions and screenings after 35 years of age. However, this does not mean that people whose parents do not have diabetes are free of risk.

Diabetes multiples risk of several other lifestyle disorders including hypertension, cardiovascular disease and stroke. Diabetes is also a leading cause of renal failure, blindness and gangrenous foot ulcers that often necessitate limb amputation.

According to a World Health Organization (WHO) fact sheet on diabetes, the global burden oftype-2 diabetes is expected to increase to 438 million by 2030 from 285 million people (recorded in 2010). In India this increase is estimated to be 58%, from 51 million people in 2010 to 87 million in 2030.With over 67 million Indians already recognized with having diabetes and77 million pre-diabetics, the country is home to the world’s second largest population of diabetics after China.