As the number of affected people continues to increase every year, Diabetes Mellitus or commonly known as diabetes is considered one of the deadliest diseases affecting humans around the world. As a response to the alarming increase of cases getting affected by the disease, the Engineering Health and Safety Environment (HSE) Committee arranged an awareness program attended by engineering staff last 23rd of March 2021 through MS-Team,12-1 PM (Muscat Time).

The program aimed to inform and remind our staff of the dangers of Diabetes Mellitus.

Ms. Rukaya Khalfan Al-Brashdi and Ms. Raya Mohammed Al-Syabi were the guest speakers during the event. They are both working as nurses at UTAS-Ibra.

During the event, Ms. Raya Al-Syabi explained the processing of sugar inside our body and how it is stored or used as energy in the human body.

Ms. Rukaya Al-Brashdi then discussed the types of diabetes and how it is affecting us. Type 1 diabetes which is common in children is about 5-10% of the total cases. Type 2 diabetes which is most common in adults 45 or older is about 90-95% of the cases.

They also discussed the common symptoms for both types and the causes of the said disease. During the discussion, Ms. Rukaya mentioned that for Type 1 diabetes, doctors find it difficult to know the exact cause and that the immune system attacks the insulin-producing beta cells while type 2 diabetes is a combination of genetics and lifestyle-related factors and can be avoided.

It was also mentioned that diabetes is causing lots of complications such as heart disease, kidney damage, eye and hearing problems, foot or skin related problems, and even Alzheimer’s disease.

Ms. Rukaya also discussed sugar levels from low to normal to high levels and the importance of maintaining normal sugar levels. “A proper diet containing fruits, vegetables, high-fiber, protein-rich, and non-dairies plus daily exercise and physical activities helps us avoid high sugar levels and helps us avoid the complications of diabetes”, she added.

It was a quick discussion but very informative and beneficial to everybody. Taking care of our health is a number one priority because we only have one life.

The event was concluded by presentation of the certificate of appreciation to the speakers by Mr. Sivakumar and a closing remark from Mr. Rajababu, who is also the host of the event.

The event was made possible through the efforts of the HSE event coordinator, Mr. Donato Villaceran under the Engineering HSE Committee headed by Mr. Viknesh Kumar and constant support of Engineering HOD.