Diabetes A Growing Concern In Zim: US Based Nutritionist

Diabetes is a growing concern in Zimbabwe with almost 210,000 people suffering from the disease in 2015 while more than 70% of people aged between 20 and 79 not know they have the condition, U.S based nutritionist, Chipo Cordiales has said.

Speaking at a Bio Innovation Zimbabwe diabetes workshop in Harare, Cordiales said a meta- analysis study confirms that diabetes is on the rise in Zimbabwe and becoming a cause for concern.

“According to the study, worldwide, someone dies from diabetes every six seconds,

“If current trends continue, by 2040, the African continent will have the highest costs of diabetes in the world,” she added.

She further noted that the costs and care of diabetes are high and out of reach for Zimbabweans resulting in high number of deaths.

“Zimbabwe Diabetes Association estimated that 81.4% of the 7,000 known diabetes related deaths occurred in people under the age of 60,” she said.

Cordiales also noted that most Zimbabweans suffer from the condition but do not know it.

“Almost 210,000 people suffered from diabetes in 2015 and more than 70% of people aged between 20 and 79 with diabetes do not know they have the condition,” she added.

Speaking at the same event, Caroline Jacquet, Project Coordinator of Bio Innovation Zimbabwe said diabetes is on the rise in Zimbabwe because of the foods people consume and sedentary lifestyles.

“Zimbabwe is in a period of a nutrition transition in which we are giving up our healthy traditional foods for western-inspired ingredients and highly processed foods of lower nutritional value.

“People also live sedentary lifestyles, waistlines are expanding and exercise very little,” she said

Jaquet urged people to have healthy diets, exercise for 30 minutes a day.

She added that diabetes is a disease of lifestyle with researches indicating that simple, realistic and achievable changes in diet and lifestyle can effectively prevent or delay the condition.