Diabetes is out of control, says the International Diabetes Federation (IDF) which released new data on Tuesday that a staggering 285 million people worldwide have diabetes. India is the new epicentre of diabetes and has the largest diabetes population of 50.8 million. In such a scenario, Pune based Dr C S Yajnik will be awarded the presitigious UN/ UNESCO Hellmut Mehnert award for the prevention of diabetes and his research study on maternal nutrition.

Speaking with The Indian Express from Montreal, Canada, Yajnik, head of the KEM hospital’s diabetes unit said that new data has been released today which puts India as the country with the most people with diabetes – with a current figure of 50.8 million, followed by China with 43.2 million. Behind them USA (26.8 million) Russian Federation (9.6 million), Brazil (7.6 million), Germany (7.5 million), Pakistan (7.1 million) Japan (7.1 million) and Mexico (6.8 million)

The latest figures from the IDF Diabetes Atlas indicate that people in low and middle-income countries (LMCs) are bearing the brunt of the epidemic, and that the disease is affecting far more people of working age than previously believed.

Says Yajnik, `. Either you can diet and exercise, improve nutrition for the mother in her pregnancy and also introduce interventions among children to reduce the risk of obesity.’’

Yajnik who will speak on the subject at the conference is being awarded for the research study on maternal nutrition and foetal programming. A Pune based maternal nutrition study had shown that the frequency of maternal intake of foods rich in micronutrients (green leafy vegetables, fruit and milk) and concentrations of folate and vitamin C strongly determined the size of the foetus. Professor Jean Claude Mbanya, president of the International Diabetes Federation, in a statement, voiced concern, The data from the latest edition of the IDF Diabetes Atlas show that the epidemic is out of control. We are losing ground in the struggle to contain diabetes. No country is immune and no country is fully equipped to repel this common enemy.”

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