On World Diabetes Day, Walk in Your Nearest Clinic for a Blood Test

On World Diabetes Day, Walk in Your Nearest Clinic for a Blood Test

Do you know 1 in 2 people across the globe don’t know that they have type 2 diabetes? Do you know type 2 diabetes is preventable? If you have a family history of this disease, you may be at risk, say doctors. On this World Diabetes Day, which is on November 14, let’s pledge to keep our health at top priority and check our blood sugar.

• Do you live a sedentary lifestyle?
• Does your diet consist more of refined items like white flour, white bread, white sugar, processed foods, soft drinks, alcoholic drinks, and more?
• Are you overweight?

If you answer “yes” to any or all of the above questions, you must wake up and smell the coffee. It is time to change your lifestyle and eating habits.

The best thing to do is visit a clinic near you and give your blood sample. The clinic conducts tests for overall health. They will check your fasting blood sugar, which will give you an idea of where you stand in this regard.

Some people are pre-diabetic, which means they do not have full-blown diabetes yet, but are just at the border. With the right awareness and change in lifestyle, you can do a U-turn and prevent becoming diabetic.

World Diabetes Day campaign

The International Diabetes Federation (IDF) organizes campaigns for this day in collaboration with its member associations across the world. The members include American Diabetes Association, Canadian Diabetes Association, Diabetes UK, Diabetes New Zealand, Diabetes South Africa, Diabetes Australia, and Diabetic Association of India.

The bodies organize events at the local, national, and international level to spread awareness among people about this lifestyle disease. Countries may also organize camps to check blood sugar, arrange for online or offline quiz, seminars, workshops, and conferences.

The objective is to drain out the fear from people about this disease, bust myths, throw light on true facts, and let people know that diabetes is preventable and if you have it, you can still enjoy life.

The 2019 theme

The theme this year is Family and Diabetes.

IDF is busy spreading awareness about how diabetes affects the entire family and not just the patient. However, support from family plays a vital role in improving quality of life of the patient. Diabetes can be managed well.

The fact that diabetes is incurable makes it more fearful; but if the disease is managed well, the patient does not feel unwell at all. The federation urges families to educate themselves about warning signs of this disease. People should also know risk factors.

According to a research by IDF in 2018, parents are unable to detect this disease even in their own kids. This in spite of the fact that they have a family member suffering from diabetes. About 4 in 5 people are not sure of the warning signs, while 1 in 3 people don’t know anything about the signs at all.

This is an uncomfortable figure in the wake of rapidly increasing cases of diabetes around the world. Please walk in your nearest clinic this World Diabetes Day and get your blood tested.