Diabetes, Not Death Sentence, Says Delta Hospital CMD

A medical expert has stressed the need for a healthy lifestyle as a sure parameter in engendering a healthy community among the Nigerian public, saying that diabetes is not a death sentence but  it is preventable.

The Chief Medical Director (CMD) of Mother and Child Specialist Hospitals and Advanced Diagnostic Centre, Owa-Alero, Ika North-East Local Government Area of Delta State, Dr. Martins Egbase, stated this during a one-day health walk organised by the hospital.

Dr. Egbase, while underscoring the importance of the health walk, said it was aimed at creating public awareness on the health implications of untreated diabetes.

While saying that diabetes is not a death sentence as it is preventable, the CMD outlined measures that could be adopted by the public to avoid deteriorating condition of the ailment, which included late arrival to hospital and unchecked health conditions by the public. 

And has always resulted in the increasing rate of morbidity and mortality in the nation’s health institutions.

To check the trend, the health professional stressed the need for regular exercise, lifestyle change, lifestyle modification, and healthy eating.

According to him, “It is on the strength of this that we want to use this opportunity of our health walk today to show the public the need for regular exercise.”

Describing the exercise as part of the hospital’s community-based initiative, the CMD said: “We are here today, through this health walk, to carry out our community-based initiative where we want to make the community aware of the risk associated with diabetes.

“We want to create public awareness that diabetes is not a death sentence, as it is preventable. Diabetes is a metabolic problem, which means that the sugar in the body is not properly utilized, so the blood sugar tends to rise.

“As a metabolic problem, some of the activities needed to address the situation lie strongly on our lifestyle changes, lifestyle modification, healthy eating, as well as regular exercise.

“It is on the strength of this that we want to use this opportunity of our health walk today to show the public the need for regular exercise.”

The high point of the exercise that lasted for about three hours was a free medical examination for high blood pressure, blood sugar, among others.