Dear bosses, here's why you shouldn't ignore diabetes

Dhruv Gupta explains how, as more and more young people fall prey to diabetes, organisaions get affected and how companies can contain the losses due to drop in productivity.

Diabetes is aptly named a 'silent killer'. This of course applies to our individual health, but as it increasingly affects more people, especially, younger people in the workforce, it is starting to have an impact on companies, that most of them may not be aware of.

With 400 million people in urban India, 73 per cent are estimated to be overweight. Due to genetic tendencies, South Asians are more prone to diabetes. In fact, on average Indians get diabetes 10 years earlier than their Western counterparts.

More than 20 per cent of the population in India has at least one chronic disease and more than 10 per cent of the people have more than one. Chances are a significant part of your company’s employee base is affected with diabetes or such a chronic condition -- even those with younger employee bases.

Also Read: 5 steps to control your blood sugar

Here is how diabetes may be hurting your organisation, and what you can do about it:

Fluctuating Energy and Focus

For people afflicted with diabetes -- their bodies lack the ability to regulate their blood sugar. So, their blood sugar levels can spike high or dip easily. Regulated blood sugar levels are directly related to an individual’s energy levels.

And if the blood sugar goes too high or too low, it can give you headaches, blurred vision, and other such symptoms, leading to fluctuating energy levels, lower productivity and lower ability to focus at work.

Also Read: 5 dangers of artificial sweeteners

Increased Absenteesim

Diabetes lowers immunity, which increases chance of acquiring infections, and may lead to longer recovery periods. In case of injuries, diabetes leads to longer wound healing.

The vascular effects of diabetes also tend to alter lung function, all of which lead to an increase in susceptibility to respiratory infections such as pneumonia and influenza among individuals with diabetes.

Increased medical expenses

Costs of diabetes care are alarmingly high. The annual cost for India due to diabetes was about $38 billion in 2011. Many low income families spend as much as 25 per cent of their family income on diabetes care.

Also Read: It's possible! Reversing diabetes before it takes hold!

With increased medical expenses, both companies and their employees are spending more on diabetes.

Depression

Dealing with a disease like Type 2 diabetes means constantly being aware of what you eat, what you do, and how you live. Even after you’ve adjusted to these changes, there may be times when the stress of a daily illness just gets you down.

Most people feel blue from time to time. Depression is directly related to work productivity, energy, team-building, enthusiasm and other factors that have an impact of the company.

Also Read: Diabetes Diet: What is it all about?

While the fact that diabetes prevalent in India cannot be changed in the next few years, companies can take steps to manage diabetes and other chronic diseases. And to help them do that, there are companies that provide end-to-end services to help engage their employees around health and wellness and improve their overall health.

Photograph: Kerolic/Wikimedia Commons