Diabetes, obesity, and BP, now the poor are getting the diseases of the rich. You will be shocked to know the reason

In India, even the poor are now falling prey to the diseases that the rich suffer from. Experts have said that as long as the poor do not get proper and cheap nutrition, health services and information, these diseases cannot be prevented.

Diseases that were previously only prevalent in the rich in India, such as type-2 diabetes, high blood pressure and obesity, are now affecting the urban poor as well. The surprising thing is that the urban poor eat less calorie food than the rich, yet they are getting sick. According to

G. Umashakthi, Registered Dietician, Dr. Mohan Diabetes Specialties Center, Chennai , this clearly means that just eating less food is not enough to stay healthy, the quality of food is also very important.

Now diabetes, high blood pressure and obesity are not just diseases of the rich. Poor people, who are already living with many difficulties, are now also struggling with these serious diseases. The solution to the problem is not just in how much they eat, but in what and how they eat.

Why are the poor getting diseases like the rich?

The diet of the urban poor lacks nutrition. Poor people eat less, but their diet is not balanced. They mostly eat white rice, fried food, cheap street food and sweet drinks. Such food does not contain fiber, protein, vitamins and minerals, but has lots of oil, salt and bad fat. This gradually leads to lack of insulin, belly fat and then diseases like diabetes, obesity and blood pressure.

People are getting sick even after eating less

Eating less is not good if it does not contain essential nutrients. For example, if the food does not contain magnesium, iron, vitamin D, omega-3, then metabolism (the body's process of making energy) can be affected.

Stress and work fatigue, lack of treatment

Slum dwellers often do a lot of sedentary and tedious work. Lack of money and stress increase the hormone cortisol in the body, which can increase belly fat and lead to the onset of diabetes. Apart from this, poor people usually do not get their blood sugar, BP, cholesterol checked because the facilities are far away or there is no information. The disease is detected only when it has become serious.

It's hard to find good food

Fruits, green vegetables and pulses are not easily available in slums. On the contrary, cheap packaged snacks and sweet food are easily available, which further increases diseases.

Weakness from childhood

Children who are born with low weight and are malnourished in childhood suffer from more diseases later on. If such children grow up and eat a diet rich in carbohydrates, then diabetes and obesity can develop quickly.

Lack of information

Many people do not know what to eat and what not to eat. There is a lack of diet counseling, lack of knowledge about diabetes or the importance of exercise. Sometimes people do not seek health services due to shame or lack of time.

How to save the poor from the diseases of the rich

Experts said that now people need to move beyond the mindset of 'eat less'. Such people should get pulses, fruits and vegetables at cheap rates, government subsidy should be given for this, safe paths and parks should be made for walking and playing, free health checkup camps should be organized in places of poor people so that people can get their blood pressure, sugar and cholesterol checked on time, people should be given information about health and nutrition in simple language , nutrition scheme should be run for schools and pregnant women so that diseases do not continue from generation to generation.

PC:NBT