World Diabetes Day 2021: Date, Theme, Significance and everything you need to know

World Diabetes Day 2021: Every year, World Diabetes Day is observed on November 14 to mark the discovery of a treatment that has saved millions of lives around the world. This day was first marked by the International Diabetes Foundation and the World Health Organization in the year 1991. This day provides an opportunity to raise awareness about diabetes and the need to control it in its early stages. In the year 1921, Dr. Frederick Banting and Dr. Charles Best developed insulin, and this year marks the 100th anniversary of the discovery of insulin.

In India, diabetes is on a surge, affecting the urban as well as rural population. If reports are to be believed, by the end of 2030, diabetes will affect 578 million people, and by 2045, 700 million people will be reporting this metabolism condition. In India, approximately 77 million people have been affected by diabetes, as per the data released by the Diabetes Atlas Committee (IDF).

World Diabetes Day 2021 Theme

Even after 100 years of the discovery of insulin, millions of people across the world have no access to care or medication. People with diabetes need ongoing care and moral support to manage their condition and avoid any complications. The 100th anniversary of the discovery of insulin provides an opportunity to bring about meaningful change for the more than 400 million people across the world who are living with diabetes. This year, the theme for World Diabetes Day 2021 is "Access to Diabetes Care."

World Diabetes Day: Here's everything you need to know about Diabetes

Diabetes is a non-communicable chronic disease that occurs in a person's body when the pancreas fail to produce enough insulin, or when the body loses the capacity to effectively use the insulin it produces, which directly leads to a condition where glucose levels in the blood group, also known as hyperglycemia. Diabetes is of two types, including diabetes type 1, which is known as insulin-dependent or childhood-onset diabetes. It is mainly characterised by a lack of insulin production. While diabetes type 2 is known as non-insulin-dependent or adult-onset diabetes, it is caused by the body's ineffective use of insulin, which often results from physical inactivity and excess body weight.

According to the World Health Organization, globally, nearly 422 million adults were living with diabetes in 2014, compared to 108 million in 1980. "In 2014, 8.5% of adults aged 18 years and older had diabetes. As per WHO data, in 2019, diabetes was the direct cause of 1.5 million deaths, and 48% of all deaths due to diabetes occurred before the age of 70 years, as per WHO data. Between 2000 and 2016, the WHO recorded a 5% increase in premature mortality rates, which means that people were diagnosed with diabetes before the age of 70.

With diabetes comes a bundle of various illnesses that pose threats to the life of a diabetic person. Diabetes can cause kidney failure, heart attack, stroke, lower limb amputation, and blindness, among other diseases. People can easily prevent diabetes by including and excluding a few things from their routines, for instance, a healthy diet, physical activity, and avoiding the use of tobacco can prevent or delay type 2 diabetes. However, diabetes can be treated with medication, and controlled diabetes levels can pose no serious threat to a person.

World Diabetes Day 2021: Quotes to share

• On this World Diabetes Day, I wish you all happiness and sweetness, but no diabetes. May you have a healthy life.
• Wishing you good health on World Diabetes Day. May your life be filled with all the goodness and smiles that make it a sweet life.
• On the occasion of World Diabetes Day, I wish you, sweetness, in life and not in blood.
• Less sugar means more happiness. Sending you best wishes on World Diabetes Day!!!
• On this World Diabetes Day, I wish you all the sweetness in life with no sugar in your veins.
• Even if you have diabetes, don’t let diabetes have you. What Doesn’t Kill You Only Makes You Stronger. Happy World Diabetes Day.

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