Himachal Pradesh records higher diabetes, obesity rate than national average

Tribune News Service

Subhash Rajta

Shimla, June 20

The state has reported a surprisingly high prevalence of metabolic non-communicable diseases such as diabetes, hypertension and obesity. As per a study conducted by the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) and India Diabetes, which has been published in ‘The Lancet Diabetes and Endocrinology’, Himachal has a higher prevalence rate of these diseases than the national average.

“The prevalence rate of diabetes and pre-diabetes in the state is 13.5 and 18.7 per cent against the national average of 11.4 and 15.3 per cent, respectively,” said Dr Jitender Mokta, the principal investigator of the study in HP. Dr Ramesh Gilepa was the co-investigator of the study.

The hypertension rate in the state is 35.3 per cent, just a fraction less than the national average of 35.5 per cent. On the other hand, the obesity rate in the state is also much higher than the national figures. While 38.7 per cent state residents are generally obese as against the 28.6 per cent at the national level, the abdominal obesity has been pegged at 56.1 per cent against 39.5 per cent at the national level.

While no other study of this scale has been carried out in the past to measure the prevalence of these diseases in the past decades, many doctors believe that these diseases were much less in the state about two decades ago.

Dr Mokta said, “We hardly had Type 2 diabetes among schoolchildren a few decades back, but now diabetes is on the rise among children too. I think diabetes, hypertension and obesity started gathering pace around a couple of decades ago.”

Blaming sedentary lifestyle, he said, “While machines cut out physical exertion from household chores, work in the orchards and farms have been handed over to labourers. It has led to a spurt in the incidence of these diseases. At least 60 minutes of activity per day right from the childhood is our best bet to escape from these diseases.”

Sedentary lifestyle to blame

As people get economically better, their lifestyle starts becoming sedentary. It has led to a spurt in the incidence of these diseases. Increased physical activity and healthy diet is our best bet to keep these diseases at bay. — Dr Jitender Mokta, principal investigator

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