Home Health World Kidney Day celebrated, experts advise healthy lifestyle to prevent kidney ailments

World Kidney Day celebrated, experts advise healthy lifestyle to prevent kidney ailments

Kathmandu, March 10, 2017: The World Kidney Day was observed on Thursday by organising awareness rally and calling on all to practice healthy lifestyle to prevent renal diseases.

The theme for the Day was ‘Kidney Disease and Obesity’ as kidney disease is more likely to develop in obese people, especially those with diabetes and hypertension.

Bhaktapur-based Human Organ Transplant Centre and Arogya Foundation organised a walkathon from Basantapur to Khula Manch to spread awareness about the importance of healthy lifestyle to prevent kidney ailments.

Minister for Health Gagan Kumar Thapa stressed on organising awareness campaigns. “The number of kidney patients is gradually increasing due to lack of proper awareness about ways to prevent the disease,” he said. Minister Thapa also informed that the Ministry of Health was coordinating with zonal hospitals to provide dialysis service to patients outside Kathmandu Valley.

Dr Pukar Chandra Shrestha, executive director at HOTC, warned that obese persons were five to seven times more vulnerable to kidney failure and encouraged all to maintain body weight to prevent the disease. “Obesity affects all organs, including kidney. Healthy and balanced diet coupled with physical exercise helps save kidney by controlling excessive fat accumulation in the body,” he suggested.

According to World Health Organisation, over 600 million adults were obese worldwide in 2014.  Experts have also advised the general public to undergo regular kidney check-up as kidney diseases may not show initial symptoms and by the time they are detected, it could be too late. When detected, more than 80 per cent of the vital organ could be in critical stage. It is estimated that around 300,000 people in Nepal suffer from some kind of kidney ailment. Of them, 3,000 suffer from kidney failure annually.