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Diabetes is a growing disease in Burkina Faso. It is a real public health problem and it is increasingly a reason for visits to health institutions. In our interview, Dr. Yempabou Sagna, endocrinologist at the Souro Sanou University Hospital in Bobo-Dioulasso and teacher at INSSA at the University of Nazianzuela, discusses the different types of diabetes, the main causes of the disease and other issues. Offers advice to avoid it. Read instead!
Lefaso.net: Can we get some idea of the severity of diabetes in Burkina Faso?
Dr. Sagna: Diabetes is a group of diseases whose common feature is chronically elevated blood sugar (glucose or blood sugar levels). According to the latest WHO STEPS survey data from the Ministry of Health and Public Health of Burkina Faso in 2021, 7.6% of adults over 20 years of age in Burkina Faso have diabetes. The reason why diabetes is a group of diseases is that there are four types. Type 2 diabetes is the most common disease worldwide (90% of diabetes cases) and mainly affects people over 40 years of age; type 1 diabetes affects people under 35 years of age, but more often in children and adolescents. In Burkina Faso, we have identified about 400 children and adolescents who are being treated for type 1 diabetes, and I would say that these young people benefit from free insulin treatment in most medical services in Burkina Faso before the age of 30. We also have gestational diabetes. This is when a pregnant woman discovers diabetes without knowing that she has it. In Burkina Faso, according to research by Professors Joseph Drabo and Macaire Ouédraogo, 9.1% of pregnant women are affected. The last type of diabetes is much rarer and requires treatment by a specialist.
What is the main reason?
Before talking about the reasons, we must remember that carbohydrates (sugars) are the main source of energy for the human body and we need them to survive. We find these carbohydrates in the basic diet (millet, corn, rice, fonio, pasta, milk, fruits, etc.). When we eat these foods, they end up in the blood in the form of sugars, which are mainly used by our muscles and brain, and then the excess is stored in the liver and fat. But for these organs to use this sugar, it needs the help of the pancreas, an organ in the stomach that produces a substance called insulin. It is this insulin that helps the organs to use the sugars, and when there is too much sugar, it stores the excess in the liver and fat to maintain normal blood sugar levels (glucose or blood sugar levels).
Diabetes is a group of diseases whose common feature is a chronic rise in blood sugar, either because the pancreas no longer produces enough insulin, or because the secreted insulin is not working properly, or even a combination of both mechanisms. The main factor in type 2 diabetes is that the secreted insulin does not work properly. There are several possible causes, but the main one is obesity, especially abdominal obesity (big belly), which is the cause of half of cases of this type of diabetes. In type 1 diabetes, the pancreas is no longer able to produce insulin. In gestational diabetes, the woman’s hormones prevent the insulin from working properly. This usually happens in women who are already overweight or obese.
Can diabetes be avoided?
Type 2 diabetes is a type of diabetes that can be avoided by specifically fighting a big belly. For type 1 diabetes, research is still ongoing.
What are some key tips you can offer in this regard?
To fight type 2 diabetes, you must exercise regularly for at least 30 minutes a day; Do not sit for more than 7 hours a day in total, whether or not you sit continuously. Do not eat foods that are too greasy, sweet or salty: eat three meals a day, at regular times if possible, do not get into the habit of eating fast food (hamburgers and other burgers, shawarma, kebabs, ice cream, etc.), avoid snacking, avoid alcohol and sugary drinks except on holidays, eat at least five portions of fruit and vegetables a day, drink enough water. Once you are 40 years old, check your blood sugar and blood pressure at least once a year or every two years. Health services are empowered to provide advice on diabetes prevention and care, including healthy eating and physical activity.
Especially when it comes to diet, what should we do?
It depends on how much it weighs. For people of normal weight, they maintain a normal diet. Overweight or obese people should strive to avoid the excess intake mentioned above and reduce their intake if a nutritional assessment finds it necessary. You need to set a weight goal and gradually move towards it. We do not recommend diets that are too restrictive because not only are they a source of nutritional deficiencies, but people who try such diets are unable to maintain them long-term and when they stop the diet, they gain more weight than they lost.
You should not lose weight suddenly, you should lose about 10% of your body weight in a year. For example, a person who weighs 100 kg today should be around 95 kg in six months, and then through dieting, you can reach 90 kg in a year, and so on, this is how we don’t get fat. But many people want to increase their weight from 100 kg to 90 kg in a few months through dieting, and then they find themselves weighing 105 kg or 110 kg. In any case, this diet must be balanced.
How can we define a diet that is right for us?
The diet that suits us is one that we can maintain over the long term, or ideally for a lifetime, depending on our financial capabilities, our eating habits and the food we have access to. It must be balanced. A balanced dish is one in which half is composed of carbohydrates (tomatoes, rice, pasta, fonio, couscous, yams, potatoes, etc.), a quarter of vegetables (salad, cucumbers, leaves, green beans…) and the last quarter of proteins (fat-free meat, fish, white beans, eggs… milk or cheese and a piece of fruit).
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