About Diabetes in India

In 2004, the MV Hospital for Diabetes and Diabetes Research Centre in Chennai, India, completed the first-ever study on diabetes in India. According to the website, Diabetes India, the study followed almost 11,000 men and women considered to be at high risk for diabetes for three years. The results showed a disturbing truth: some 35 million Indians suffer from diabetes, and the number of people with the disease has increased 20 times in 20 years.

Percent of Indians with Diabetes

• The percentage of the population with diabetes in India and Southeast Asia as a whole is around 15 percent, as compared to 6 percent of the population of the Western world. Diabetes is the second major cause of heart disease in India, second only to smoking. The study found that, in addition to the cases that are identified every year, at least 13.3 million cases remain undiagnosed. Researchers believe that number is equal to more than 50 percent of Indians living in rural India and 30 percent in Indian cities. This high rate is due to a high susceptibility to environmental risk factors; urbanization, which has led to decreased physical activity; obesity; and changes in diet.

Diabetes Effect on Indian Culture

• This increase in diabetes has created a number of problems for a country where only the rich have health insurance. The New York Times reports that many people have worked hard for years to improve their quality of life, only to spend most of their earnings and savings treating the diabetes that seems to come with a more-affluent Indian lifestyle. Families are often forced to choose between maintaining their economic status or controlling a family member's diabetes. As more Indians become aware of the disease, there is more interest in learning how to prevent diabetes before it occurs.

Western Diabetes Treatment

• In the West, doctors would recommend that someone with pre-diabetes get more exercise, cut down on fats and sugars and perhaps begin a medication regimen. But according to an article in Rediff - India Abroad, because Indians tend to have different biochemical features that can increase the risk of diabetes, Western treatments and preventions often do not work in India. Most Indians are not fat and are already on vegetarian diets that are high in carbohydrate and fiber. But Indians are also very resistant to insulin. This, coupled with the fact that diabetes tends to begin at an earlier age in Indians than in Westerners, makes diabetes a huge threat to the population.

Questions About Proper Treatment

• Researchers wondered whether the Western recommendations for prevention or control of diabetes would work for the Indian population. According to Diabetes India, however, after the three-year study, the participating doctors agreed that primary prevention of diabetes in non-obese Indians could be accomplished by modifying the person's diet, beginning an exercise regimen and by taking medication.

Indian Task Force on Diabetes Care

• The Indian Task Force on Diabetes Care In India, a group made up of 300 doctors specializing in diabetes treatment and an International Advisory Board that includes International Diabetes Federation and World Health Organization officials, has come up with recommendations specific to the concerns of Indian diabetics. These include more exercise, cutting portion sizes of traditional foods and modifications to traditional recipes. The recommendations include separate guidelines for vegetarians and non-vegetarians. In addition, diabetic education is recommended for those in high-risk groups.

The Future of Diabetes Control in India

• As a greater number of doctors in India begin to specialize in diabetes, they will be able to educate more Indians on the causes, prevention and treatment of diabetes. Until then, diabetes will continue to be a serious problem in this rapidly developing country.