4 Million Couples are Childless
These views were expressed by local and international health experts while addressing the 8th Midsummer Conference of Pakistan Endocrine Society which started on Friday in Malam Jabba area of Swat.
The three-day international endocrine conference is being attended by experts from various cities in Pakistan, the United States, the United Kingdom, the Middle East and South Asia, and is presenting its research on a variety of diseases, including reproductive health and diabetes.
Addressing the conference, Dr. Javed Akhtar, a Pakistani endocrinologist based in the United States, said that about 4 million couples in Pakistan are childless and the main reason for this is the hormonal diseases found in men and their lifestyle.
He said that diseases of men and their lifestyle causes infertility in about 40% to 50% of couples.
Major Causes of Infertility
He said that one of the major causes of infertility in men is lack of male hormone testosterone which is one of the major reasons for obesity, besides alcohol, smoking and drug use in men. Deprives her of the ability to have children.He said that childless couples should consult an endocrinologist as now with new medicines and modern treatment, about 70% of couples can have the blessing of having children.
Dr. Abrar Ahmed, President of Pakistan Endocrine Society and a leading endocrinologist, said that it was time to declare an emergency in Pakistan regarding diabetes. The only way to deal with diabetes is to create awareness about it.
Public Awareness Programs
Dr. Abrar Ahmed further said that Pakistan Endocrine Society is launching public awareness programs including training of doctors within its limited resources but it is in dire need of cooperation of media and government.He said that Pakistan Endocrine Society along with various governmental and non-governmental organizations including Khyber Pakhtunkhwa government has started awareness campaigns on diabetes but the support of this media is very much needed to save Pakistan from this epidemic.
10 Thousand Steps a Day
In addition, the German diabetic Dr. Peter Schwartz said that every person must take about ten thousand steps a day to be safe from mental problems, including diabetes, heart disease, kidney disease and other diseases.He said that people with diabetes, if they walk 11,000 steps daily, their blood sugar can be controlled in a much better way than medicine.
Professor Peter Schwartz advised the public to give up cold drinks and artificial sweeteners, saying that if a person drank a cold drink for a year, no one could save him from diabetes. The government should increase taxes on artificial sweeteners and keep them out of the reach of the people so that they can be protected from other diseases including diabetes.
On the first day of the conference, experts from Nepal and Sri Lanka including Dr. Asad Rahim, Dr. Samira Jabeen, Dr. Ali Java, Syed Abbas Raza from UK addressed the gathering.
