Zubair Qureshi
Diabetes and blood pressure are among the major causes of kidney diseases and it is evident that high consumption of sugary drinks is one the major causes of diabetes.
These views were expressed by speakers during a seminar organized by Pakistan Kidney Patients Welfare Association (PKPWA) at a local hotel in Islamabad.
Chairman PKPWA Dr Zahirud Din, Technical Adviser PKPWA Brig. Shehzad, Secretary PKPWA Col. Sardar Khan, health and policy experts, civil society and media persons addressed and participated in the programme.
“If we want to reduce kidney diseases, we need to reduce the use of sugary drinks from our day-to-day life, they said.
Dr Zahirud Din said kidney diseases were increasing day by day in Pakistan at an alarming level. There are different reasons for kidney diseases but our diet plays a very important role in these diseases. Excessive use of sugar/salt and ultra-processed foods has an important role in kidney diseases. We need to avoid using sugary drinks in our life if we want to reduce diabetes and blood pressure which are among the major causes of kidney diseases.
According to a meta-analysis of different studies in 2020 & 2021, daily use of one small glass of sugary drinks increases the risk of diabetes by 19% and blood pressure by 10 %. This ultimately increases the risk of kidney diseases. Government shall take policy actions to reduce the consumption of these unhealthy drinks.
Evidence-based policy action is to increase the tax on these unhealthy drinks. In many countries when they increased tax on sugary drinks, the consumption of these drinks decreased significantly. We demand the government of Pakistan increase taxes on these drinks to a minimum of 50 %. This will help decrease kidney diseases when the consumption of these drinks will reduce.
Other speakers also emphasized the government to take immediate policy measures to reduce the fast-growing kidney diseases. They said that the imposition of higher taxes on SSBs will not only reduce the disease burden but will also give additional revenue to the government that can be used on health care activities.
