Posted on March 20, 2015, Friday
KUCHING:
Diabetes Malaysia (Sarawak branch) has embarked on a free exercise
programme for the public, says its branch chairman Dr William Voon.
He said the programme was held from 5.30pm to 7pm on every first and third Friday of the month at the Diabetes Resource Centre at Bampfylde Road here.
“The next session will be held on March 20. Participation is free-of-charge. All are welcome.
“A lucky draw will be held at the end of each session to thank the participants,” Dr Voon said here yesterday.
He stressed that with the affluence the country had attained, lifestyle had changed.
“We eat a lot of unhealthy food and adopt a sedentary lifestyle. There have been consequences. Quietly, dreadful illnesses surface and diabetes mellitus is one of them.”
He said diabetes was a silent but devastating condition of insidious onset and by the time it’s diagnosed, the condition has been there for five years.
“What is disturbing is that diabetes, if not properly controlled, leads to blindness, heart attack, kidney failure, leg ulcers and amputation, stroke, impotence and more,” he warned.
Dr Voon said the good news was that with proper control, all these need not happen.
“Proper control means that we have to revert to a healthy lifestyle, which includes healthy eating habits and plenty of exercise. If these two are not enough, then medication may be needed, but not before the first
two.
“We invite all to exercise with us, meet new friends, learn more about diabetes and stay healthier into old age,” he said.
Recently, Dr Voon disclosed that an estimated 21 per cent or almost six million Malaysians were diabetics, making the country among those in the region with the highest number of diabetics.
He said the staggering number of diabetics was due to various reasons, the main one related to food intake (obesity) and lack of exercise.
Dr Voon disclosed that in the past 20 years or so, the trend had been going up.
And it had been declared epidemic in Malaysia as well as throughout the world.
However, he reckoned that the cases in Sarawak could be lesser at 15-16 per cent of its 2.5 million people, due probably to lesser number of people having their health screened.
He said the programme was held from 5.30pm to 7pm on every first and third Friday of the month at the Diabetes Resource Centre at Bampfylde Road here.
“The next session will be held on March 20. Participation is free-of-charge. All are welcome.
“A lucky draw will be held at the end of each session to thank the participants,” Dr Voon said here yesterday.
He stressed that with the affluence the country had attained, lifestyle had changed.
“We eat a lot of unhealthy food and adopt a sedentary lifestyle. There have been consequences. Quietly, dreadful illnesses surface and diabetes mellitus is one of them.”
He said diabetes was a silent but devastating condition of insidious onset and by the time it’s diagnosed, the condition has been there for five years.
“What is disturbing is that diabetes, if not properly controlled, leads to blindness, heart attack, kidney failure, leg ulcers and amputation, stroke, impotence and more,” he warned.
Dr Voon said the good news was that with proper control, all these need not happen.
“Proper control means that we have to revert to a healthy lifestyle, which includes healthy eating habits and plenty of exercise. If these two are not enough, then medication may be needed, but not before the first
two.
“We invite all to exercise with us, meet new friends, learn more about diabetes and stay healthier into old age,” he said.
Recently, Dr Voon disclosed that an estimated 21 per cent or almost six million Malaysians were diabetics, making the country among those in the region with the highest number of diabetics.
He said the staggering number of diabetics was due to various reasons, the main one related to food intake (obesity) and lack of exercise.
Dr Voon disclosed that in the past 20 years or so, the trend had been going up.
And it had been declared epidemic in Malaysia as well as throughout the world.
However, he reckoned that the cases in Sarawak could be lesser at 15-16 per cent of its 2.5 million people, due probably to lesser number of people having their health screened.
