Ahmedabad: High intake of calorie-dense diets (junk food), increased screen time through mobile phones and computers, lack of sleep, and a rise in stress were red-flagged as risk factors triggering the early onset of diabetes in young people under 40 in India and Asia, proclaimed the Ahmedabad Declaration by the Diabetes in Asia Study Group (DASG) and Diabetes India.
The declaration, drafted by 59 experts from across the globe, was released during their recently concluded World Congress of Diabetes in the city.
The focus of the declaration is on promoting a healthier lifestyle and early screening and intervention to address the “impending threat to the healthcare systems and society”, as stated in the declaration document.
Some of the major recommendations include prohibiting the sale of unhealthy packaged food in school canteens, decreasing the consumption of refined carbohydrates with a high glycaemic index, promoting fibre and vegetable sources in the diet, introducing workplace policies to incentivise exercise, mandatory integration of physical education and structured exercise programs in schools, and developing urban planning that prioritises walking paths and cycling tracks along with public parks and recreational spaces for Asian countries.
The declaration was also published recently as an academic paper, ‘Ahmedabad Declaration: A Framework to Combat Growing Epidemic of Young-Onset Type 2 Diabetes in Asia,’ by Rakesh M. Parikh, Banshi Saboo, Anoop Misra, Abdul Basit, Peter Schwarz, and others in the Elsevier journal Diabetes and Metabolic Syndrome.
Dr Parikh, the primary author of the Declaration, said that the early onset of type 2 diabetes (T2D) is putting an unsustainable burden on the healthcare system. “The T2D at a young age sees longer disease duration, higher complications, and escalating treatment costs. The govts in Asia should act now with stronger policies on the prevention of unhealthy food and early screening programs,” he said.
Dr Sanjeev Phatak, a city-based endocrinologist and an author of the Declaration, said that in medical practice, the experts are witnessing a rise in young diabetics. “Compared to the western population, we have the onset at least two decades early. We see a large number of patients in their early thirties, which is the result of poor lifestyle choices in young age, including the consumption of junk food and lack of exercise due to high screen time,” he said.
A recent Ahmedabad-based study covering school children indicated a prevalence of obesity in 12.6% of surveyed children (10-16 years), whereas 35% were found to be overweight. The prevalence was higher in urban areas (20%) and in upper socio-economic classes. Obesity was most common in the 15-16 years age group, as experts recommended regular body mass index (BMI) check-ups.
Ahmedabad: High intake of calorie-dense diets (junk food), increased screen time through mobile phones and computers, lack of sleep, and a rise in stress were red-flagged as risk factors triggering the early onset of diabetes in young people under 40 in India and Asia, proclaimed the Ahmedabad Declaration by the Diabetes in Asia Study Group (DASG) and Diabetes India.
The declaration, drafted by 59 experts from across the globe, was released during their recently concluded World Congress of Diabetes in the city.
The focus of the declaration is on promoting a healthier lifestyle and early screening and intervention to address the “impending threat to the healthcare systems and society”, as stated in the declaration document.
Some of the major recommendations include prohibiting the sale of unhealthy packaged food in school canteens, decreasing the consumption of refined carbohydrates with a high glycaemic index, promoting fibre and vegetable sources in the diet, introducing workplace policies to incentivise exercise, mandatory integration of physical education and structured exercise programs in schools, and developing urban planning that prioritises walking paths and cycling tracks along with public parks and recreational spaces for Asian countries.
The declaration was also published recently as an academic paper, ‘Ahmedabad Declaration: A Framework to Combat Growing Epidemic of Young-Onset Type 2 Diabetes in Asia,’ by Rakesh M. Parikh, Banshi Saboo, Anoop Misra, Abdul Basit, Peter Schwarz, and others in the Elsevier journal Diabetes and Metabolic Syndrome.
Dr Parikh, the primary author of the Declaration, said that the early onset of type 2 diabetes (T2D) is putting an unsustainable burden on the healthcare system. “The T2D at a young age sees longer disease duration, higher complications, and escalating treatment costs. The govts in Asia should act now with stronger policies on the prevention of unhealthy food and early screening programs,” he said.
Dr Sanjeev Phatak, a city-based endocrinologist and an author of the Declaration, said that in medical practice, the experts are witnessing a rise in young diabetics. “Compared to the western population, we have the onset at least two decades early. We see a large number of patients in their early thirties, which is the result of poor lifestyle choices in young age, including the consumption of junk food and lack of exercise due to high screen time,” he said.
A recent Ahmedabad-based study covering school children indicated a prevalence of obesity in 12.6% of surveyed children (10-16 years), whereas 35% were found to be overweight. The prevalence was higher in urban areas (20%) and in upper socio-economic classes. Obesity was most common in the 15-16 years age group, as experts recommended regular body mass index (BMI) check-ups.
The declaration, drafted by 59 experts from across the globe, was released during their recently concluded World Congress of Diabetes in the city.
The focus of the declaration is on promoting a healthier lifestyle and early screening and intervention to address the “impending threat to the healthcare systems and society”, as stated in the declaration document.
Some of the major recommendations include prohibiting the sale of unhealthy packaged food in school canteens, decreasing the consumption of refined carbohydrates with a high glycaemic index, promoting fibre and vegetable sources in the diet, introducing workplace policies to incentivise exercise, mandatory integration of physical education and structured exercise programs in schools, and developing urban planning that prioritises walking paths and cycling tracks along with public parks and recreational spaces for Asian countries.
The declaration was also published recently as an academic paper, ‘Ahmedabad Declaration: A Framework to Combat Growing Epidemic of Young-Onset Type 2 Diabetes in Asia,’ by Rakesh M. Parikh, Banshi Saboo, Anoop Misra, Abdul Basit, Peter Schwarz, and others in the Elsevier journal Diabetes and Metabolic Syndrome.
Dr Parikh, the primary author of the Declaration, said that the early onset of type 2 diabetes (T2D) is putting an unsustainable burden on the healthcare system. “The T2D at a young age sees longer disease duration, higher complications, and escalating treatment costs. The govts in Asia should act now with stronger policies on the prevention of unhealthy food and early screening programs,” he said.
Dr Sanjeev Phatak, a city-based endocrinologist and an author of the Declaration, said that in medical practice, the experts are witnessing a rise in young diabetics. “Compared to the western population, we have the onset at least two decades early. We see a large number of patients in their early thirties, which is the result of poor lifestyle choices in young age, including the consumption of junk food and lack of exercise due to high screen time,” he said.
A recent Ahmedabad-based study covering school children indicated a prevalence of obesity in 12.6% of surveyed children (10-16 years), whereas 35% were found to be overweight. The prevalence was higher in urban areas (20%) and in upper socio-economic classes. Obesity was most common in the 15-16 years age group, as experts recommended regular body mass index (BMI) check-ups.
Ahmedabad: High intake of calorie-dense diets (junk food), increased screen time through mobile phones and computers, lack of sleep, and a rise in stress were red-flagged as risk factors triggering the early onset of diabetes in young people under 40 in India and Asia, proclaimed the Ahmedabad Declaration by the Diabetes in Asia Study Group (DASG) and Diabetes India.
The declaration, drafted by 59 experts from across the globe, was released during their recently concluded World Congress of Diabetes in the city.
The focus of the declaration is on promoting a healthier lifestyle and early screening and intervention to address the “impending threat to the healthcare systems and society”, as stated in the declaration document.
Some of the major recommendations include prohibiting the sale of unhealthy packaged food in school canteens, decreasing the consumption of refined carbohydrates with a high glycaemic index, promoting fibre and vegetable sources in the diet, introducing workplace policies to incentivise exercise, mandatory integration of physical education and structured exercise programs in schools, and developing urban planning that prioritises walking paths and cycling tracks along with public parks and recreational spaces for Asian countries.
The declaration was also published recently as an academic paper, ‘Ahmedabad Declaration: A Framework to Combat Growing Epidemic of Young-Onset Type 2 Diabetes in Asia,’ by Rakesh M. Parikh, Banshi Saboo, Anoop Misra, Abdul Basit, Peter Schwarz, and others in the Elsevier journal Diabetes and Metabolic Syndrome.
Dr Parikh, the primary author of the Declaration, said that the early onset of type 2 diabetes (T2D) is putting an unsustainable burden on the healthcare system. “The T2D at a young age sees longer disease duration, higher complications, and escalating treatment costs. The govts in Asia should act now with stronger policies on the prevention of unhealthy food and early screening programs,” he said.
Dr Sanjeev Phatak, a city-based endocrinologist and an author of the Declaration, said that in medical practice, the experts are witnessing a rise in young diabetics. “Compared to the western population, we have the onset at least two decades early. We see a large number of patients in their early thirties, which is the result of poor lifestyle choices in young age, including the consumption of junk food and lack of exercise due to high screen time,” he said.
A recent Ahmedabad-based study covering school children indicated a prevalence of obesity in 12.6% of surveyed children (10-16 years), whereas 35% were found to be overweight. The prevalence was higher in urban areas (20%) and in upper socio-economic classes. Obesity was most common in the 15-16 years age group, as experts recommended regular body mass index (BMI) check-ups.