THOUSANDS OF PEOPLE in Barbados are living with diabetes. Unfortunately, there are still many more with the disease who do not know their status and, worse still, the number of people who remain unenlightened about this disease is alarming. We often only pay attention to this condition when it affects us or someone very close to us.
One of the things about diabetes is that it has been talked about openly much longer than has been the case with HIV/AIDS and cancer. Yet it has not commanded the kind of national response that those two other illnesses have certainly evoked over the past two decades. While nothing should be done to deflect from the awareness and advocacy in fighting both HIV/AIDS and cancer, we need the same national initiative with diabetes. After all, this disease is equally debilitating.
As November is Diabetes Awareness Month, and Saturday, November 14, World Diabetes Day, this is the time of the year when full attention falls on diabetes. This is an ideal time to call attention to this national epidemic, one of the chronic non-communicable diseases which significantly affect us in Barbados.
The campaign throughout this month should not simply be about raising funds, but should focus also on spreading awareness about diabetes and garnering support for those suffering with it; kindling interest in those predisposed to it; and getting more relatives and friends on board in the fight against it.
This call to action is all about eating well by making food choices to avoid bulging waistlines, fighting obesity in both adults and children, and containing the rising number of sufferers of type 2 diabetes.
The message must get through to every Barbadian. From exercising to enhanced food choices, there must be a national response. This means restaurants must understand they have a social responsibility to reduce the level of salt, sugar and saturated fats in their offerings while school cafeterias must change what they put on sale.
Private sector businesses as well as Government departments and agencies must do more to encourage their employees to follow a healthy lifestyle by promoting wellness programmes in the workplace.
Admittedly, it is not easy coping with diabetes, whether type 2 or 1. But when the right things are not done, managing this condition becomes all the more challenging. The reality is that while diabetes is one of the greatest health threats facing Barbados, it is also one which can be easily treated through lifestyle changes. People need to be far more aware of the dangers so that they can take steps to reduce their risks of developing diabetes, especially type 2.
Although diagnosis of diabetes can be life-changing, with the right support people can learn to manage the condition well and reduce the chance of complications. We can do with far fewer amputations caused by this disease.
