Vietnam responds to World Diabetes Day
A festival themed “Diabetes Prevention Day” will be held in Ho Chi Minh City on November 3-5, then come to Hanoi on November 14-16.
The event aims to raise public awareness of the disease and encourage them to lead a healthy lifestyle.
People who contract diabetes will have a chance to receive free health consultations.
A chronic disease, diabetes increases the risk of other serious health problems. The health sector reported that the prevalence of diabetes has grown in Vietnam in recent years.
In the 1990s, diabetes incidence among the population group aged 20-79 was 1.2%. The rate jumped to 2.7% in 2002 and 5.7% in 2012.
Medical experts estimated that some five million Vietnamese currently suffer from diabetes but more than 60% have not been diagnosed. At the same time, many diagnosed patients have yet to receive any proper treatment.
Dr. Nguyen Thy Khe, Chairman of the Vietnamese Association of Diabetes and Endocrinology, said the growing number of diabetes patients is to blame on a protein-laden diet and a lack of physical activities.
Those suffering from overweight and high blood pressure face a higher risk of developing diabetes.