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If you thought the no-frills ‘upma’ made for a healthy breakfast, the ‘Food, spikes and diabetes’ survey may just upset that breakfast table!
The breakfast item popular in South India “is seen to add the maximum amount of calories, compared to other regular breakfast items,” says the study. Roti and rice are the other two key sources of carbohydrates in the Indian meal plate, it added.
Indifference “If we are what we eat, then 7 out 10 people with diabetes in urban India seem to be paying little attention to what and how much they eat,” said Abbott, the multinational healthcare company that commissioned the survey. (Its product basket includes blood sugar monitoring devices and diabetes management nutrition products.)
The study seeks to map what people eat and the meal plate’s role on blood sugar variability and impact on overall diabetes management, Abbott said.
Carb surfeit Chennai, Bengaluru, Hyderabad and Thiruvananthapuram show the most “imbalanced” food with maximum carbohydrates, at more than the recommended upper limit of 60 per cent of calories that should come from carbohydrates, the study finds.
V Mohan, Chairman and Chief Diabetologist at Chennai’s Dr Mohan’s Diabetes Specialities Centre, said, “In our epidemiological studies, we find that polished white rice comprises 48 per cent of all the calories consumed by people in Chennai and this is one of the drivers of the diabetes epidemic.”
“Controlling carbohydrate is extremely important because excess carbohydrate can lead to post-meal spikes of blood glucose. Since Indians eat carbs with every meal they get huge post-meal surge in blood glucose which abnormally increases the insulin secretion. Gradually the insulin levels dry up due to beta cell exhaustion and severe diabetes sets in,” he added.
Shashank R Joshi, President, Indian Academy of Diabetes and Senior Endocrinologist at Mumbai’s Lilavati Hospital, said India is a largely a carbohydrates country. “Indians consume both simple and complex carbohydrates. The latest survey confirms the findings of the earlier Starch study that cereals, roti and rice are the primary source of carbohydrates in the Indian meal plate”, he added.
Researched by Ipsos India, the study covered over 4,100 people with diabetes (Type 2, diagnosed for over 18 months), between 36 – 65 years and across socio-economic classes.
Diabetes @ below 45 years Of those surveyed, the study found that 55 per cent were diagnosed with diabetes below the age of 45 years. Leading the pack here were Mumbai, Kolkata and Bengaluru, followed not too far behind by Lucknow, Hyderabad, Delhi, Chennai and Thiruvananthapuram.
About 62 per cent of the sample population also suffered from other medical conditions, the study said, adding that hypertension (at 40 per cent) was the most common co-morbidity. Almost 70 per cent of respondents having diabetes for more than five years reported one or more co-morbidity. Eye disorders (retinopathy) and nerve disorders (neuropathy) are relatively high in this group, it observed.
Explaining the importance of monitoring blood sugar, Mohan said, “Testing of both fasting and post-meal blood sugars are important because the fasting blood sugar tells us about the liver’s glucose production, while the post-meal blood sugar tells us about the glucose disposal.”
“Controlling both is important. However, the post–meal is even more important because the post- meal blood sugars have been linked to cardiovascular disease in many studies,” he cautioned.
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