KUCHING: Know what you eat, know how much you can eat to avoid getting diabetes.
Diabetes Malaysia Sarawak Branch chairman Dr William Voon said there is still a lack of awareness on the serious health complications caused by diabetes.
He said many people are aware about diabetes but not all know that it can cause terrible complications such as blindness, kidney failure, heart attack, stroke, and foot gangrene.
“People are not aware. They think that diabetes won’t affect them until it affects them and it is a long term complication,” he told New Sarawak Tribune during the Diabetes Food Camp held at the Diabetes Resource Centre, Jalan Maxwell here today.
He added in Malaysia, 20 per cent of Malaysians suffer from diabetes and this means one in five people is diabetic.
“In Sarawak, the figure is less around 16 to 17 per cent of the population or one in six or seven persons who is diabetic,” he said.
He said most diabetic cases are reported in the urban areas as compared to those in the rural areas.
“So, we must not be complacent because diabetes can lead to other health complications,” he said.
Dr Voon said there are two main groups – children and adults who would get diabetes.
“For children, it is because their pancreas is destroyed by infections, and for adults it is because they are people with insulin resistance.
“When there are too much fats and the fat cells have hormones that oppose insulin and therefore the insulin cannot work properly, as a result they get diabetes,” he said.
As such, Dr Voon said it is important for people to maintain a normal body weight.
“So if you get slimmer, the diabetes gets better and if you stay slim you can avoid the onset of diabetes.
“And if you have diabetes at a young age, you must take care of it, otherwise when you get older there will be a lot of health problems,” he said.
Earlier, the Diabetes Food Camp organised by Diabetes Malaysia Sarawak Branch saw dietitians from both public and private hospitals sharing on the proper meal composition and habits which are an important pillar of blood sugar control in diabetics.
