New Delhi, July 4 (IANS). Minister of State for Science and Technology and Earth Sciences, Dr. Jitendra Singh made a special call on Saturday. He talked about taking steps at the national level in mission mode to deal with the epidemic of liver disease and the rapid increase in the cases of type-2 diabetes in the country.
The minister said that to deal with this problem, there is a need for preventive healthcare and creating awareness among the people on a large scale. He also said that these diseases are now being seen in younger people than before.
He said that in view of the changing nature of diseases, there is a need to move away from treatment-centric healthcare towards prevention, early detection and lifestyle changes.
According to a statement from the Ministry of Science and Technology, the minister said the rising incidence of liver diseases in India and the rapid rise in type-2 diabetes are part of a larger metabolic crisis. Diseases such as fatty liver, hypertension, dyslipidemia and insulin resistance are deeply interrelated and promote each other.
Singh was speaking on the occasion of the third anniversary of ‘Liver and Metabolic Disease Network’ at the Institute of Liver and Biliary Sciences (ILBS) here.
The network, run in collaboration with the Department of Science and Technology (DST), seeks to strengthen collaborative research, innovation, early detection and symptom-based policy making to address the growing burden of liver and metabolic diseases.
Singh described the initiative as an important national platform that has brought together scientific institutions, doctors and researchers to address one of India’s fastest growing public health challenges.
He said that continuous scientific collaboration and people’s participation will be very important to reduce the increasing burden of liver and metabolic disorders.
The minister said, “Due to genetic factors, excess fat around the abdomen (central obesity) and the special physical structure (phenotype) of Indians, people here are at higher risk of diabetes, fatty liver and heart diseases. This is also often seen in those people whose body mass index (BMI) is relatively low.”
He said that due to these characteristics, the need for Indian data, Indian research and Indian solutions increases rather than relying solely on evidence obtained elsewhere.
The Minister said that the liver, despite being the strongest and self-healing organ of the body, is under constant pressure due to unhealthy eating habits, lifestyle, wrong sleeping habits, stressful behavior and environmental pollution.
–IANS
SCH/ABM
