Data shows growing risk of diabetes for women in Penang
GEORGE TOWN: The prevalence rate of women in Penang dealing with high blood sugar levels rose to 22% in 2023, up from 15.8% in 2019.
Compared with the national diabetes prevalence rate in 2023 which is at 15.6%, this clearly indicates a growing risk of diabetes for women in the state.
These figures are from the National Health and Morbidity Survey, which is done every four years, said state health committee chairman Daniel Gooi.
“In contrast, the prevalence of diabetes among men in Penang fell slightly from 20.5% in 2019 to 19.2% in 2023.
“For both genders combined, Pahang has the highest prevalence rate at 21.5%, followed by Perlis at 20.6% and Penang is third at 20.5%,” he said.
The National Diabetes Registry Report 2023 also showed that about 57% of all known diabetes cases in Malaysia were women.
Penang Women’s Development Corporation chief executive officer Datuk Ong Bee Leng is of the view that women may not be prioritising their health as they are focused on care-giving and domestic responsibilities, among other things.
“Time constraints, stress and limited financial resources can be among the reasons women neglect their own health.
“Health checks get pushed back, symptoms are ignored, fatigue is normalised and over time, this consistent self-neglect leads to serious long-term consequences,” she said.
As such, she said it is vital to approach healthcare and policy development through a gender-based lens because women’s experiences, biology and social circumstances differ from men.
Ong said it is important that each family member has equal share in being caregivers.
“By sharing responsibilities, it lightens the load of everyday chores, which then enables women to focus on themselves,” she said.
Dietician M. Yokanantini said one key factor is the increasing number of women being overweight.
“Their busy schedule, balancing work and care-giving, results in limited time for exercise.
“If they skip meals or eat irregularly, they face blood sugar spikes and crashes which lead to excessive eating or reliance on comfort food like snacks,” she said.
She said that chronic stress released the cortisol hormone which raised blood sugar levels and could cause the body to become insulin resistant.
“The moment your body goes into insulin resistance, it is a key driver to develop Type II diabetes,” she added.
She said women need to stay active, suggesting brisk walks around the house, marching in place while watching TV or doing squats or leg raises.
“To be considered active one needs at least 150 minutes of physical activity a week.
“You can do it even while multitasking at home or work.
“Just spend half an hour a day on this.
“You can split that into segments of 10 minutes each time,” Yokanantini said.
She also spoke about good eating habits such as portion control, reducing sugar and carbohydrate intake and eating food high in dietary fibre.
