Overview
- New BMC data show only 27% awareness of excess sugar risks, 15.6% prediabetes in a 5,000-person sample, and 559,751 screenings over three years, with many cases still undiagnosed.
- Clinicians report a marked rise in early-onset type 2 diabetes, with diagnoses now appearing in patients in their 20s and even teens, including cases as young as 12.
- Doctors warn that air pollution and other environmental endocrine disruptors increase insulin resistance, worsen glucose control, and heighten risks of heart, kidney and brain complications.
- Hospitals are scaling integrated services to prevent complications, including a diabetic foot clinic at Osmania General Hospital with free footwear distribution and insulin pump support for underprivileged children at NIMS.
- Against a backdrop of 589 million people with diabetes globally and about 100 million Indian adults affected, experts urge routine screening, sustained lifestyle changes and life‑course and workplace-focused support to prevent organ damage.