Question : STUDY UNDERTAKEN ON DIABETES

(a) whether the attention of the Government has been drawn to the study undertaken by the Delhi Diabetic Research Centre with assistance from Delhi Government wherein it has been observed that abstaining from the intake of prevalent soft drinks can prevent diabetes;

(b) if so, whether the Government has decided to carry out any other scientific study/testing in this regard;

(c) if so, the details thereof; and

(d) the action taken/proposed to be taken by the Government ever since the publication of the aforesaid report?

THE MINISTER OF HEALTH AND FAMILY WELFARE (DR. ANBUMANI RAMADOSS)

(a)to(d): A statement is laid on the Table of the House.

STATEMENT REFERRED TO IN REPLY TO LOK SABHA STARRED QUESTION NO. 370 FOR 20TH APRIL, 2005

`The Delhi Diabetes Research Centre`, a non governmental organization, in collaboration with Government of Delhi, launched an awareness and education programme and a study focusing an hazards of obesity and its relation with diabetes, among the school children in Delhi. The Delhi Diabetic Research Centre claims that in course of the said study, 34 schools in Delhi have been covered so far. Children in the age group of 8-14 years were randomly selected and were assessed on the basis of skin fold thickness, body weight percentage, BMI, waste hip ratio and BP. The Study concluded that lack of physical activity/exercise combined with excess consumption of fast food and aerated drinks is the major cause of over weight/obesity in these children.

The Delhi Diabetes Research Centre has informed that this study is still going on and only preliminarily results of the study are available.

However, several epidemiological studies, done in different parts of the country show increasing prevalence of Type II diabetes in urban and rural areas. Keeping this in mind, the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare have now initiated steps to obtain the in principle approval of the Planning Commission to create a National Programme for Control of Diabetes.