KUALA LUMPUR: He was just 28 when Adam Zeno realised something was wrong.
He was constantly thirsty, frequently running to the toilet and often tired and sleepy.
“I thought it was because of work. I had a lot on my plate, or I wasn’t getting enough sleep,” he recalled.
Then came the night that changed everything.
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The Sabahan was working late when the palpitations hit and he struggled to breathe.
He went to hospital, and the dreaded diagnosis came. He had type 2 diabetes, a problem that’s usually associated with much older adults.
The warnings came. Type 2 diabetes can lead to damage to the eyes, kidneys, nerves and the heart.
He cried alone several times, struggling to accept that this disease had become part of his life.
“Why me?” was the question Adam kept asking himself. “I always thought diabetes was far away from me.”
Adam, now 30 and running a printing business, said he had not realised that his body was already showing signs that something was wrong.
“I began looking back at my lifestyle. My mother and grandfather had diabetes.
“Meanwhile, I had irregular meals, enjoyed sweet food and carbohydrates, exercised little and, after starting my business, was often stressed, stayed up late, slept poorly and drank alcohol.
“I used to think that because I was young, it was all right to push myself a little harder. Only when the diagnosis hit, I realised that I was wrong,” he said.
Adam is not alone.
An estimated 192,464 Malaysians aged 18 to 29 have diabetes, while 339,853 have hypertension, and more than eight in 10 in both groups were unaware of their condition.
Health Minister Datuk Seri Dr Dzulkefly Ahmad recently revealed in Parliament that among those aged 30 to 39, an estimated 338,508 had diabetes, with more than six in 10 undiagnosed.
Another 938,865 had hypertension, with more than seven in 10 unaware of it.
Malaysian Medical Association president Dr Sivanaesan Letchumanan said young adults often underestimated their risk because they associated diabetes and hypertension with older people.
“Many feel young and healthy and assume they are not at risk. But these conditions can develop silently, without obvious symptoms, sometimes for years,” he said.
He said this could leave people unaware of their condition until complications arose, by which time damage might already have occurred.
Another misconception was that type 2 diabetes was caused mainly by sugar, when it could also be influenced by genetics, unhealthy eating habits, physical inactivity and smoking.
“Being young is no guarantee of good health,” he said.
Dr Sivanaesan also highlighted poor sleep as a risk factor that young adults often overlooked.
Inadequate sleep can lead to Type 2 diabetes, hypertension, obesity and cardiovascular disease, he said.
He urged young adults not to wait until they felt unwell before getting their health checked.
Blood pressure, blood glucose and cholesterol screening checks should form part of routine healthcare, he said.
“Those with a family history of diabetes, hypertension or heart disease, as well as people who are overweight or physically inactive, should discuss their screening needs with a healthcare professional,” he added.
Adam has since started taking his meals, exercise, sleep and blood glucose more seriously, with help from a nutritionist.
Now, he hopes to help others understand their health better.
“Don’t take health for granted. Sometimes, it is only after we lose something that we realise how precious it is,” he said in an interview.
