VietNamNet Bridge - With the number of people who are diagnosed with diabetes increasing by 211 percent in 10 years, Vietnam is named among the countries with the fastest growth rate in the number of diabetes patients across the world, according to a workshop on diabetes control held in Hanoi last week.

According to experts, diabetes has been pushed to the epidemic level throughout Vietnam with five million people affected, and this number is constantly increasing. However, Vietnam is facing many challenges, such as a shortage of doctors, the poor level of awareness about the disease, and lack of facilities... These are the main reasons leading to over 60 percent of the five million diabetics which are not diagnosed early.

For every 10 people diagnosed with the disease, six have suffered from complications. Most patients do not reach treatment goals after they have been diagnosed with the disease.

Previously, diabetes was often considered a disease of the rich but now it affects all social classes and age groups. Many of the diabetic patients in Vietnam cannot afford the cost of the needed treatment.

The cause of this situation, according to Dr. Nguyen Thy Khue, Chair of the Vietnam Endocrinology and Diabetes Association, is the rapid transition to the westernized lifestyle and disregard of physical activity and reasonable diet.

Dr. Khue also made a warning on the rejuvenation of patients, even children of 8-9 years old have diabetes.

"To prevent the disease, the lifestyle changes are very important. In fact, 70 percent of adults are aware of the dangers of the disease but from awareness to practice is not easy for young people. With only 30 minutes of doing exercise every day, the risk will be reduced by 40 percent," said Dr. Khue.

Minh Anh