Take care of yourself first
This is in response to the article that was published suggesting ways to improve and promote a healthy lifestyle (‘Sixth annual Beat Diabetes Walkathon on Friday,’ Gulf News, December 7). Everyone should stay healthy, and I think that everyone has a right to live in a healthy environment. It’s a responsibility to lead a healthy lifestyle, and it should be promoted. However, I believe before standing up as a society to promote a healthy diet, the individual responsibility needs to come into the picture.
Do we actually take care of ourselves with our diet and our routines with exercise? We all tend to neglect ourselves in the process of improving our standard of living. My point is that we can’t rely on our society to stand up and do something for us. I believe it’s more of the individual responsibility to take care of ourselves. Once we fulfil our responsibilities to ourselves, we can then begin talking about social responsibilities and promoting this in our social environment.
Your neighbours won’t wake you up at 6am to go for a walk or tell you to hit the gym at 9pm before going to bed. It’s your own choice to come out of your comfort zone and take the first step towards staying healthy. Talking about the social responsibility, I think the best we can do is to have community parks in each community so that being active becomes easily accessible for everyone at any time of the day.
From Ms Sairah Zakir
UAE
Helpful tips
As stated in the article, diabetes is a disease that can be prevented or managed by changing one’s lifestyle. That’s why it is extremely important for everyone to be aware of all the ways to prevent it. After all, prevention is better than the cure. Sadly, it is currently the fastest growing debilitating disease in the world and becoming more and more common in the UAE.
I agree that we should be maintaining healthy eating habits, regular exercise and all that is mentioned in this Gulf News article to avoid developing diabetes. It is not that difficult to do with today’s supermarkets that are offering low fat, skimmed and low calorie options. I like the advice that taking a walk every day is a good place to start – something as little as 20 to 30 minutes a day will reduce our risk of diabetes or will help one to regulate the disease if one has it.
From Ms Arushi Madan
Sharjah
Better safe than sorry
I strongly feel it’s a social responsibility to raise diabetes awareness since it is the fastest growing ailment in the GCC. As elders, we have to encourage the younger generations towards healthier lifestyles and provide opportunities to be more active indoors and outdoors. Better safe than sorry!
From Ms Soumiya H.
UAE
Promote awareness!
Promoting the walkathon will help promote a healthy lifestyle, and I agree that it is a social responsibility. Healthy people can only participate in building a healthy nation. In my opinion, to build a happy life, health is very important. I would like to teach three key points to my children and one of those points is the importance of health. The other two are education and values. We have to educate and reiterate the awareness.
From Mr Abdul Salim
Dubai
Always walking
It is an individual and social responsibility to control the diabetes. I am diabetic and I have been for the last 25 years and for me it was genetic. I am controlling myself with medicines and regular walking exercises.
Society should take initiative more through the media about the awareness. My best wishes to all the people participating, I wish you all good health, wealth and a peaceful life.
From Mr Ramamurthy K. I.
Dubai
Changing perceptions
I really enjoy seeing articles like this about women becoming doctors in the region, and I wish all of the Western world could see more of these stories (‘Doctors come in all genders,’ Gulf News, December 7). The majority over here (in the West) think that women are treated as second class citizens, which is a myth. These negative perceptions grow with the arrest of the woman driver in Saudi Arabia, but no matter how hard I try to educate people about my wonderful religion, many are still wearing their blinders.
From Ms Marianne L. Sensing Abdel
US
Facebook comment
Who is to blame?
In yet another shocking case of medical negligence, at least 62 people have lost their eyesight after an operation at a free medical camp in Gurdaspur, India (‘More than a dozen Indians blinded after free cataract surgery,’ Gulf News, December 6). Reports suggested that cataract surgeries were performed under “severe unhygienic conditions” whereupon the eyes of all the 62 patients were found to be damaged permanently.
This incident has occurred barely a month after the faulty sterilisation surgeries at a government-organised family planning camp, where around 13 women died and 34 were reported critical. Protests have been held over the mishaps and the state governments have ordered inquiries.
Ultimately the loss is felt only by those poor families who expected a turn for the better. Who is to blame? Few blamed the ruling party, few blamed the doctors, but will the victims benefit in the end?
From Ms Leah Elizabeth Thomas
Sharjah
Justice should be met
It is extremely sad to hear of these poor villagers who underwent cataract surgery and instead were blinded in the process. Those responsible for these botched procedures should be brought to justice.
From Ms Fatima Suhail
Sharjah
Facebook comment
How can this happen?
This is completely unacceptable! They should ban all these doctors from continuing their medical practices. It is so angering to see these things happen!
From Ms Prexie Gui
Dubai
Facebook comment
Don’t blame the politicians
It is in Narendra Modi’s time in democratic India where people have gotten back their rights. Now people are bringing culprits to the forefront. It’s why we came to know all about these types of incidents. Things like this have been happening for a long time, but it only just started to come out. Some people don’t care about anybody and they will do anything to fill their pockets. It’s better not to criticise the person who is trying to recover the country, after all he is born and brought up in India. He’s not an outsider, whatever he is doing, I believe that it’s all good for us. While talking about this news post, criticise that person who did this, not the country or the Prime Minister.
From Ms Archana Sen
Abu Dhabi
Facebook comment
Help others
The effort of the medical wing of the Pakistan Association Dubai (PAD) is appreciable (‘Free health camps by Pakistan Association Dubai,’ Gulf News, December 7). I hope others will also follow their footsteps to help poor, needy and deserving people. Long live PAD!
From Mr Ahmad Eftekhar
Sharjah
Website comment
Grateful to the UAE
I have followed this horrible story as best I could about Ibolya Ryan who was stabbed and killed last week (‘Ex-husband pays tribute to murdered teacher Ibolya Ryan,’ Gulf News, December 7). I am so glad that the police and people of the UAE have been so helpful to her ex-husband and those poor little children who have recently lost their mother. God bless their whole family and keep his eyes on them for a long time.
From Mr William H. Fette
Transfer, US
Website comment
Justice will be served
My condolences to the victim’s family. It is sad to see a life lost in this cowardly and inhumane act. I praise the UAE police for its prompt response and may this be a warning to all who have thoughts of doing such a heinous crime to not even think about it. Justice for one is justice for all.
From Ms Jennifer
Abu Dhabi
Website comment
Remarkable work
I would like to express my deepest sympathy and prayers to the family of the victim (‘UAE residents mourn mall murder victim,’ Gulf News, December 7). May she rest in peace. On the other hand, I greatly commend the action taken by the police and authorities in general for their remarkable work in finding the suspect! As an expatriate, I truly have great respect for the authorities of this country and its laws in rendering fair treatment and justice – not only among Emiratis, but for all expatriates living in this country.
From Ms Jill Tiamz
Dubai
Website comment
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