A healthy life should be the desire of everyone. Unfortunately, this will not be the reality across the board. Many of us are predisposed to a variety of diseases, some of which are the result of family history. Diabetes is one such challenge. Unfortunately, we often exacerbate this health challenge by our own bad habits.
It has long been recognized that, given the number of the country’s citizens who have been diagnosed with Type 2 diabetes, over and above those with the Type 1, this disease is a growing threat to Barbados’ welfare.
Particularly worrying is that the number of afflicted Barbadians continues to rise. This includes children, many of whom are now Type 2 diabetics .
With diabetes comes the risk of vision problems, neurological disease and heart disease. It forever changes the lives of those who have it, negatively impacts those caring for the sufferers and threatens the well-being of an entire nation. There is also the economic burden, given what it costs the health care system to provide medication and care for diabetics, as well as the loss of productivity and the suffering, which is difficult to measure.
Thanks to the work of a number of individuals and the Diabetes Association of Barbados, the Barbadian public should be well educated about the negative impact of this disease. That impact is best seen by visiting public and private health care institutions where diabetics are being treated. Such an experience brings one to the stark realization of the severity of this condition as one sees the number of people who have lost limbs or parts of limbs, or are simply struggling to walk, as well as others with failing eyesight.
Reducing the troubling incidence of diabetes comes down to personal choices. Better eating habits, exercise and early screening are all critical elements in our fight against this epidemic. More walking and cycling must be encouraged. Businesses preparing and selling food, whether in our restaurants, school canteens or at any of the popular wayside eateries, must recognize they, too, have a role to play.
But some high-profile support has to be put behind the efforts aimed at healthy lifestyle change. In the battle against diabetes, the entire nation will have to be mobilized in much the same way it was in the effort to combat HIV/AIDS.
Every month there is an observance devoted to one cause or another, diabetes being one of them. In light of the toll that the disease is taking and has taken, it is evident that we need much more than a month to dedicate to awareness of it and its ravages. We must be reminded every day.
