Sushil Mehta, a 13-year old
studying at a private school in the city, goes for a 20-minute run every
morning before getting ready for school. No, he is not training for the annual
sports meet. He was recently diagnosed with type-2 diabetes which came as shock
to his family considering his young age. “I never thought my son will become a
diabetic at such an early age.
According to doctors, his junk food habit and
irregular lifestyle triggered it,“ said Sushil's mother Swati, a resident of
Vejalpur.
According to the latest
health status report published by Central Bureau of Health Intelligence, more
than 13 per cent children they surveyed in the city were diabetic. Ahmedabad
was ranked third after Chennai and Bangalore in having the most number juvenile
diabetics.
Data revealed that more
than 43,000 school students between the age group of 10 and 15 years have been
diagnosed with diabetes out of the total 3,27,326 students surveyed across the
city in 2013.
As informed by city
diabetologists, diabetes among children has gone up by 30 per cent in past five
years, mainly due to sedentary lifestyle, educational stress and excessive use
of smart technology. “Environmental issues play an extremely important role in
triggering diabetes among kids. Before the invasion of smart technology and
videogames, children used to go outside and play. Now, they not only eat more
junk food, they spend less time exercising too,“ said Dr Avinash Tank,
Laparascopic Gastro and Diabetes Surgeon at Shalby Hospital.
“The number of children who
are diagnosed with diabetes, especially Type-2, in my hospital has drastically
gone up,“ added Dr Tank.
OBESITY STRIKES
According to a study
conducted by Dr Mayur Patel from Swasthya Diabetes Care, 20 per cent school
children from posh private schools who were diagnosed with obesity have the
potential of having diabetes in near future. “Nowadays, children hardly get
time to exercise in their busy life and in addition to that, stress and lack of
nutritious food make them obese. This later evolves into a diabetic ailment,“
said Dr Patel.
Highlighting another sad
condition, Dr Patel said that due to the stigma attached to Type-1 diabetes,
not many parents report it. “People living in the outskirts do not have
adequate information about the disease and many cases go unreported which lead
to the death of children,“ he added.
Due to rising obesity, more
and more children are suffering from Type-2 diabetes while Type-1 case has not
seen much rise. Almost 10 per cent of children of the same age group have
abdominal fat, which can lead to metabolic dysfunction and insulin resistance.
Diabetes is a metabolic disease in which a person has high blood sugar either
because of inadequate production of insulin (Type1) or when the cell does not
respond to insulin (Type 2).
STROKE CASES
Due to rising cases of
diabetes, many children at a very young age are falling victims to
stroke.According to data provided by 108 emergency services, on an average
every month, three children within the age of 14 years suffer from stroke in
Ahmedabad. “Previously, stroke was considered a medical emergency among adults,
but with rising cases of diabetes, children are also getting affected by it,“
said Dr Tank.
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