Today, World Heart Disease Prevention Day is being celebrated all over the world to prevent the harmful effects of these diseases.
Pakistan National Heart Association (PANAH) has been working for the last 4 years to protect its countrymen from heart and related diseases. 406,870 people lose their lives due to heart diseases in Pakistan every year i.e. one person every one and a half minutes. Similarly, according to the 2021 report of the Diabetes Federation, 3.3 million people are living with diabetes in Pakistan, and Pakistan has become the third largest country in the world in terms of people suffering from diabetes, and the rate at which this disease is increasing is increasing in Pakistan worldwide. I have come first. The annual cost of diabetes alone is estimated at more than 2.6 billion US dollars. The same is the case with blood pressure, kidney diseases and other diseases. That is, the heart and its related diseases have become a serious challenge for our health as well as our economy. One of the major causes of these diseases is our diet. Our attitudes in food choices are careless. Excessive consumption of fried foods, salt and sweets are leading to heart, diabetes, kidney and many types of cancers. A major cause of sugar consumption is sugary drinks, which contain 7 to 9 teaspoons of sugar in a small glass. Fried foods and sweets are major causes of obesity and obesity is called the mother of all diseases. By avoiding them, we can not only avoid these diseases including the heart, but also save the revenue of the country that is wasted on it.
Due to the harmful health effects of fried foods, salt and sugary drinks around the world, very effective policy measures are being taken in the world to reduce their consumption. These measures include increasing taxes on them, front of pack labeling and warning signs, school food policy and ban on their marketing. ٍ More than 106 countries or states in the world have increased taxes on sugary drinks to reduce their consumption due to the health damage they cause. Similarly, various countries are placing warning signs on fried foods and sugary drinks to help people make healthier food choices and reduce the consumption of unhealthy foods.
In Pakistan, the Pakistan National Heart Association (PANAH) has taken the lead in this work, which has been providing awareness to its countrymen for the past 40 years to avoid these diseases by adopting a simple lifestyle, eating more fried things, Avoid excessive consumption of salt and sugar. Make walking more frequent, avoid tension, avoid smoking, keep obesity, blood pressure and sugar under control. If one life can be saved by policy, thousands of lives can be saved by policy. With this in mind, the shelter is working with policy makers to develop policies that can help reduce these diseases.
Much work has been done on policies related to tobacco and sugar-sweetened beverages since asylum efforts. In the recent budget, taxes on all sugary drinks and tobacco were increased, reducing their consumption, as who says that if something is taxed at 01%, consumption will decrease by 8% and is expected. It is said that there will be a significant reduction in these diseases, but there is still a lot to be done. For this, Panah is launching a huge campaign against ultra-processed foods in the country, which will involve public awareness as well as working on all the policy options that can reduce their consumption, one by one. There will be a situation. Diseases will be less, people’s sufferings will be less and the expenses incurred on them will also be less, which will improve the health as well as the economy.
Shelter message:
1.Eat a balanced diet
2.Do proper exercise
3.Avoid smoking
- Stay away from mental stress.
- Complete treatment for diabetes and blood pressure
So that the heart is strong
Writer is Secretary General & Director Operations of Pakistan National Heart Association (PANAH).