Pics: Thejaswi U Poojary
Daijiworld Media Network – Udupi (TP)
Udupi, Nov 16: Marking World Diabetes Day, Adarsha Hospital Udupi organized a ‘Diabetes Fair’ at Government PU College (Board High School), Udupi, on Sunday, November 16.
The event was jointly held in association with Adarsha Charitable Trust (R) Udupi, Udupi District Hospital, Udupi District Health and Family Welfare Department, Udupi Taluk Health Office, Udupi District Survey Unit, Prasad Netralaya Udupi, Red Cross Udupi, IMA Udupi, and API Udupi Manipal Chapter.
MLA Yashpal Suvarna inaugurated the programme by releasing balloons and cutting the ribbon to open the health exhibition.
MLA Yashpal Suvarna, in his inaugural address said, “Our district takes pride in producing a large number of doctors and engineers. It is commendable that a private hospital is taking the initiative to organize such programs. After COVID, it feels like we have been given a new life, and even during that challenging time, G S Chandrashekar and his team worked tirelessly. G S Chandrashekar has always viewed medicine not as a business, but as a service. We must prioritize our health, because only when we are healthy can we achieve our dreams.”
Dr Basavaraj Hubballi, health and family welfare officer, Udupi district, highlighted the importance of enjoying work to avoid stress and said, “If we treat our duties only as work and responsibility, it leads to stress. Instead, we should enjoy them as a part of life. From what I have observed, junk food consumption in Udupi is comparatively lower. With increasing modernization, everyone should regularly undergo tests such as diabetes screening, lipid profile, liver function tests, and after the age of 40, ECG and echo examinations are essential.”
Dr G S Chandrashekar, in his welcome address, said, “Diabetes and obesity may appear like infectious diseases, though they are not. There are around 60 crore diabetic patients and nearly 85 crore pre-diabetic individuals worldwide. In India alone, we have about 10-12 crore diabetic and 14 crore pre-diabetic patients. By managing blood sugar, blood pressure, and cholesterol, we can prevent many related health complications. The number of diabetes cases in India is even higher than in China. To create awareness on this, Adarsha Hospital has organized this health fair.”
Dr Suresh Hegde, president API Udupi, noted that diabetes cases have drastically increased over the years and said, “When I was studying medicine, we would hardly see even one diabetic patient in a month. But today, out of every 10 adults, 6–7 are diabetic. Before diabetes develops, a person will show pre-diabetic symptoms. The rise in diabetes is mainly due to changes in lifestyle.”
Dr Ashok Kumar, president, IMA Udupi, spoke about the three types of diabetes, gestational diabetes, childhood diabetes, and adolescent diabetes and highlighted the risks associated with diabetes during pregnancy, including complications in the baby’s brain and heart development.
The fair aimed at raising awareness about diabetes and its management, featured various demonstrations and exhibits, including, model diabetes diet display, exercise and yoga demonstration, ideal body weight demonstration, digital BP monitoring demo, insulin usage demo, information on diabetes and heart disease, CPR demonstration, Kidney problem, and demonstration on glucometer usage.
Visitors benefited from free health tests, such as blood sugar level, blood lipid test, kidney test (urea, creatinine), ECG, bone density test, foot test, eye test, fibro liver scan and diabetic footwear assessment. A team of specialist doctors provided free detailed consultation and examinations.
Dietitian Anushree Acharya from Adarsha Hospital compered the programme.
President of Red Cross Society Rajeeva Shetty, district survey officer Dr Nagarathna Shastri, taluk health officer Dr Vasudev, director of Adarsha Hospital, Udupi Dr Suhas G C, CEO and vice president of Adarsha Hospital, Udupi and Adarsha Charitable Trust (R) Vimala Chandrashekar, representatives from Prasad Netralaya, IMA, API, students of Adarsha Nursing College, Paramedical College, and Allied Health Institutes, and others were present on the occasion.