New Delhi, Jan 27 (.) Former Deputy Director at the World Health Organisation, Dr Soumya Swaminathan, on Tuesday called for changes in the public distribution system (PDS) across India to slow down the growing trends of diabetes.
Taking to social media, where she posting her article in a national daily, Dr Swaminathan highlighted that unhealthy diets and lack of physical activity are the major risk factors of this metabolic disorder. “Changes in PDS with more dal and protein can help slow this trend,” she added in her post.
She also noted that India is witnessing an alarming rise in diabetes, with a higher incidence of the disease in the southern states, while the others have high prediabetes numbers, a condition that can gradually progress to the disease if unchecked with dietary intervention.
According to a Lancet study, India, with 89.4 million diabetic individuals, has the second-highest number of adults (20-79 years) with diabetes in the world. The numbers are expected to surge spontaneously to 156.7 million by the end of 2050, the study projected. . MBJ .