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To protect tomorrow, diabetes education is key
Diabetes disproportionately affects middle-income countries like Indonesia, where the health expenditure will add another burden to the already-overstretched health system.
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Being addicted to sugar leads to an increased risk of cardiovascular disease, type 2 diabetes and weight gain. (Shutterstock/Evan Lorne)
My diabetic patient consumes two kilograms of mango every day. She is not a fruitarian nor is she trying to lose weight. She simply lacks the appetite for our normal meals (rice, veggies and protein) and happens to have access to plenty of fruit on a daily basis.
My other diabetic patient was so obedient on her diet: she ate three big meals of rice and side dishes, and three snacks of soto mie, bakso or fritters. She considered these as snacks because anything without rice in it is not a “big” meal.
I meet these kinds of misconceptions in my daily practice, and it is sometimes baffling how little patients know about the recommended healthy diet despite having been living with diabetes for years.
Type 2 diabetes mellitus is an insidious but progressively worsening condition. If left untreated, it may lead to heart attack, stroke, kidney failure, blindness and lower-limb amputation. Unfortunately, it is mostly asymptomatic; hence, people rarely come to screen for their disease at early stage.
According to International Diabetes Federation, 537 million adults around the world are living with diabetes and almost half of them are undiagnosed. Many see doctors when the disease has already developed and caused complications.
Moreover, diabetes disproportionately affects middle-income countries like Indonesia, where the health expenditure will add another burden to the already-overstretched health system.
