Two-Thirds Of Pakistan's Population Is Obese: Experts Warn

KARACHI: Two-thirds of Pakistan’s population, or about 65 per cent, is obese, while more than 30 million people in the country currently have diabetes, revealed specialists alongside the Sindh Health Department officials at a press conference organized recently by the Pakistan Endocrine Society (PES) in collaboration with the Discovering Diabetes Project (DDP).

Diabetes has become many times more dangerous for Pakistanis than the COVID-19 pandemic. Complications of diabetes kill millions of people every year, and thousands of others become disabled due to its related complications.

Dr Akram Sultan, the Director of Health in Karachi; Dr Musarat Riaz, the Secretary of Publication at PES; Dr Urooj Lal Rehman, an Endocrinologist at the Jinnah Postgraduate Medical Centre (JPMC) and Abdul Samad, Coordinator of the DDP, also addressed the press conference.

A symbolic walk was also held on the occasion to highlight the importance of walking.

Dr Musarat Riaz revealed that two-thirds of Pakistan’s population is currently obese. According to international statistics, the number of diabetics has reached more than 30 million, and, sooner than later, Pakistan may have the largest diabetic population in the world.

She said that more than one crore children in Pakistan have become obese. There is a vital need to protect future generations from this preventable illness through awareness of good school health habits. She advised at least one hour of physical play to be made compulsory in every school alongside strictly prohibiting the retail of cold drinks and junk food, like burgers, samosas, chips, inside and around schools.

She appealed to the people to change their daily habits, make forty to fifty minutes of daily exercise their motto, start walking and eat home-cooked meals with vegetables and fruit instead of eating out.

Dr Akram Sultan, a renowned Cardiologist, said that diabetes is now a part of the metabolic disorder, including heart disease, stroke and diabetes. The root cause of all these diseases is the same – an unhealthy lifestyle.

He revealed that people with diabetes have a higher mortality rate than those who have suffered a heart attack. A series of awareness campaigns on diabetes and other metabolic disorders has been started with private institutions.

Dr Urooj also spoke at the event, stating that many children in Pakistan now have diabetes, the biggest reason for which is the growing problem of obesity in children. It ranks third in the world in the number of patients, which is a dangerous fact. Unfortunately, most people with diabetes are unaware of their disease.

“The tax on artificial sweeteners in Pakistan should be increased to make them unaffordable for the everyday person. At the same time, the use of fresh juices should also be discouraged,” she suggested.

Mr Abdul said that his organization had started a mission to catalogue people with diabetes in Pakistan. This year, his goal is to provide accessible blood sugar test facilities to about one million people. They have also been working to provide accessible telehealth facilities and other facilities to people with Alzheimer’s disease. He informed that those who want to get their blood sugar checked could get free tests and teleconsultation facilities from experts by calling 66766-0800.