November 14 was marked as World Diabetes Day this year, and dietitian Purva Gulyani highlighted the prevention message for the Indian-Australian community in an interview with SBS Punjabi.
"A survey done by the International Diabetes Federation in 2017 found that Indians have the highest prevalence of diabetes in South Asia," she said.
"Another study states that India is now the diabetes capital of the world, so it's important for Indian migrants to focus on timely preventive measures."
Even more alarming is the fact that diabetes is undiagnosed in one out of two people - so 50 percent of the population doesn't even know that they have the disease.
"People with a bigger abdominal circumference - which people of Indian origin tend to have - puts them six times more at risk of not just diabetes, but also cardiovascular diseases. That is why it's important for our community in Australian to take this seriously," she added.
Ms Gulyani says there are many factors at play behind these dire statistics.
"Some of it is due to a genetic predisposition, but largely, it is caused by imbalanced food intake, lack of exercise and a wrongly-placed belief that this only happens to other people (and not to us)."
"I want to encourage everyone to recognise the first warning signs of diabetes and to take appropriate action. Please don't dismiss the symptoms if you feel excessively tired or thirsty or if you urinate frequently. These are all warning signs which you must pay heed to."
Purva Gulyani, a Melbourne-based dietitian, with some tips on World Diabetes Day. Source: Supplied
"Another symptom is that wounds don't heal easily. If you have any of the above indicators, please visit your GP and get a test done."
"Since this year, the main focus on World Diabetes Day is prevention, my main message is to eat a balanced diet, to exercise regularly and most importantly, create a meal plan for the entire week," said Ms Gulyani.
"If you simply take a few minutes to plan your meals for the coming week, you will be better organised to prepare healthy meals and won't rely as much on fast foods or take-aways."
To illustrate this, Ms Gulyani gave a day's food plan, emphasising that "A simple Indian diet is both wholesome and your best diabetes prevention strategy."
Click on the audio link above to hear the full interview.
