Pakistan –
Health officials and medical scientists have observed that two-thirds population of Pakistan was either overweight or obese due to a sedentary lifestyle.
In this regard, experts have called for making sugar-sweetened beverages expensive with increased taxes, warning that the country could become the leading country with the highest number of children having diabetes.
The most dangerous fact is that 10 million children have been suffering from obesity due to the growing use of oily foods, sugar-sweetened beverages, and fast-shrinking physical and sporting activities, specifically at school levels.
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Experts have asked the authorities to concentrate on children’s health and take drastic measures to prevent them from becoming diabetic. This can be done by including healthy lifestyle measures in the curriculum and making physical activities a must at school levels.
According to a recent survey, around 33 million people currently have diabetes in the country.
Pakistan ranks third in the world with the number of people with diabetes, where over 33 million people have diabetes. However, another startling fact is that the same number of people are pre-diabetic, meaning they will also have diabetes in the years to come.
It merits mentioning that diabetes is far more significant and horrific than Covid-19 for Pakistan since it kills thousands of people annually because of renal failure and other complications. Moreover, thousands of others are getting their limbs amputated because of peripheral neuropathy caused by the disease.
Diabetes is part of a condition known as ‘the metabolic syndrome’ in which a patient suffers from heart disease, diabetes, and stroke. All these conditions have the same risk factors, including inactivity, usage of unhealthy food, and use of tobacco.