A file photo of Qatar Diabetes Association educating community members.
Doha: With about 11-23% people being pre-diabetic in the country, Qatar Diabetes Association (QDA) — a member of Qatar Foundation (QF) — offers support for them to reverse the condition and regain complete health.
Most Type 2 diabetics start by developing pre-diabetic condition, which is characterised as having blood sugar levels that are higher than normal but not quite high enough to be diagnosed as diabetic. Adel Al Tijani, who was pre-diabetic, has been able to reverse his condition under the guidance of QDA. When Al Tijani noticed an increase in his weight and a decrease in ability to see things clearly, consulted a specialist as advised by a friend.
Al Tijani’s cumulative blood sugar test was 6.1 percent — a value that indicates pre-diabetes and the doctor explained that he remained at high risk of developing Type 2 diabetes within the next ten years.
“The doctor told me that if I exceed the cumulative blood sugar rate of 6.4 percent, I would become diabetic. He advised me to exercise, and get on a healthy and balanced diet so that the cumulative rate of my blood sugar would decrease,” Al Tijani said.
“I wasn’t afraid when the doctor told me that I am in the pre-diabetic stage, because I know very well that it is possible to live with it. But I decided to follow the right steps in order to avoid becoming diabetic, and the most important step was visiting the Qatar Diabetes Association,” he added.
At QDA Al Tijani learned the many ways he could bring down his sugar levels, and develop healthy lifestyle habits. The steps he took at this stage were mainly focused on diet change such as eating more vegetables and stopped eating any type of food that would increase his weight and raise sugar levels. He signed up at a gym and started exercising for an hour every day.
“I continued to perform examinations and monitor my cumulative blood sugar levels, and after three months, my cumulative sugar rate decreased to 6 percent. It was then that I realised that I was on the right path. And after another three months, it further decreased to 5.9 percent. It kept decreasing until my cumulative sugar rate came down to 5.5 percent,” he said.
“My weight also decreased to 87kg from 102kg. I finally started enjoying my victory over this disease,” he added.
QDA plays an important role in spreading awareness about diabetes. According to Programme Manager at QDA, Kitty Nahas, the experience of Al Tijani demonstrates the association’s success in achieving its main goal to educate community members about pre-diabetes and learn about the importance of having a healthy lifestyle.
“We are always happy to receive enquiries, and we always encourage people to contact us so that we are able to provide customised programmes that suit the health conditions of every individual to help avoid diabetes,” said Kitty.
World Diabetes Day is marked today and this year’s campaign focuses on promoting the role of nurses in the prevention and management of diabetes.
