Selangor Raja Muda joins 5km walkathon marking World Diabetes Day

Raja Muda of Selangor, Tengku Amir Shah Sultan Sharafuddin Idris Shah today joined about 1,000 participants in a 5km walkathon which marked World Diabetes Day, here, today.

The walkathon which started from Sultan Sulaiman Stadium took the Crown Prince and the rest around town, in promoting a healthy lifestyle and increasing public awareness on diabetes.

Earlier, Tengku Amir Shah opened the national-level commemoration of World Diabetes Day.

Malaysian Diabetes Association chairman, Prof Datuk Dr Ikram Shah Ismail in his speech, said the world's relevant bodies were concerned about the increasing number of diabetic patients which had reached 382 million.

"In 2035, the figure in expected to rise to 592 million," he cautioned.

As an early measure to curb the increase in cases, Dr Ikram Shah said the World Health Organisation had set awareness and prevention campaigns to implement the effort at the global level.

"In Malaysia, public awareness of the dangers of diabetes is still low, and many are not aware that they they have diabetes," he noted.

Also present at the event was Malaysian Diabetes Association Selangor branch chairman, Datin Paduka Dr Santha Kumari. -- Bernama