Commissioner says 97,000 people suffer `type 2’ in Cross River

No fewer than 97,000 people in Cross River suffer from type 2 diabetes, the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports.

The Commissioner for Health in the state, Dr Inyang Asibong, told NAN on Monday in Calabar that the number was arrived at after a medical survey in June by senior officials of the ministry in line with the state’s health policy.

Asibong listed the intake of canned drinks, smoking, consumption of fast foods, alcoholic drinks and less physical exercise among others as the things that make the disease common among the adults.

“No fewer than 97,000 people in Cross River are suffering from diabetes type 2 disease. This calls for a serious concern.

“As a ministry, we are doing more awareness programmes and increasing our advocacy to ensure that some of these things that cause the epidemic are avoided.

“People do less of physical exercise these days; this is one of the reasons that the epidemic of diabetes and obesity are on the increase,’’ she said.

She advised the residents to do regular exercise, saying that it helps to burn calories and keep the body fit.

She expressed the ministry’s readiness to ensure that residents of urban and rural areas were given the needed awareness on the prevention of the disease.