Lifestyle helps 250+ BEST staff in diabetes remission

Mumbai: For the last 20 months, BEST's Mulund bus depot supervisor, Tanaji Jadhav, rarely missed his daily 10 km walk, ate a wada pav, or drank tea with sugar. He also did not take medications for diabetes that he previously took for almost 10 years daily.

For Jadhav, along with 278 other BEST employees, diabetes was in remission in the last two years. Thanks to personal diet counselling, monthly tele-monitoring, and three-monthly checkups, a sizeable number of the 1,580 BEST drivers and conductors who have diabetes managed to either stop or reduce their daily medicines. "Apart from 279 in remission, another 400 are on reduced dosage of medicines while another 500 have brought their daily sugar levels in control with medication," said BEST chief medical officer Dr Anil Kumar Singhal.

In Nov 2022, the BEST Undertaking started a workplace intervention to help staff suffering from Type 2 diabetes, the most common form of diabetes that roughly affects over 75 million Indians. The programme entailed twice-a-week lectures on leading an active lifestyle and dietary advice at the ‘Diabetes Reflection Centre' at the Dadar workshop. "We have also started a tele helpline and a WhatsApp group to disburse useful health-related information,'' said Dr Singhal.

In a country where 70% of the patients with diabetes have poor control of their blood sugar levels, such interventions help.

As Jadhav put it: "During the first lecture I attended, I was asked about what I eat. As a driver on a busy route, I would take 15-20 cups of tea a day and would love to eat sheera. The medical team then explained that if I cut down on these food items and adopted an active exercise regimen, my sugar levels would be in control."

Jadhav immediately stopped binging on carbs, cut down on tea, and took up walking. "Within a few months, my sugar levels were in the normal range without medication,'' he added.

BEST general manager Anil Diggikar said, "Our medical team has taken a good initiative in changing lifestyle, incorporating new diet and other preventive measures to ensure that diabetes is reversible for several staffers. We are witnessing positive change and it's a great initiative by the BEST medical department. We will remain committed to the cause."

Dr Tushar Bandgar, head of BMC-run KEM Hospital's endocrinology department, said diabetes remission with lifestyle changes is a possibility for Type 2 diabetes patients who have a BMI of over 25, provided they were diagnosed less than five years back and aren't on medicines such as sulfonylureas that cause hypoglycemia (low blood sugar levels).