PhnomPenhPost-July 16, 2023
In a small family home in Cambodia, twelve-year-old Sok Vathana is engaged in a daily struggle against kidney failure. His childhood has been shaped by constant trips for dialysis, an essential treatment for a boy whose kidneys can no longer clean toxins from his blood. Each dialysis session Vathana undergoes costs $90, with medications and travel expenses to the hospital in Phnom Penh bumping the weekly total to around $400, explained their mother, Rorn Chamroeun. Chamroeun realised in May that her eldest son’s health had seriously deteriorated. Doctors attributed his severe illness to an unhealthy diet and a congenital kidney condition. Earlier this year, UNICEF released a report revealing an unhealthy food environment for children in East Asia and the Pacific, including Cambodia. More than one in three teenagers consume at least one sugary drink per day, with more than half eating fast food at least once a week. Nheb Angkeabos, director of National Pediatric Hospital in Phnom Penh, noted that childhood diabetes is on the rise due to both genetic factors and poor diet. The International Diabetes Federation’s assessments paint a grim picture for Cambodia. In 2019, diabetes was responsible for 22 deaths each day. The situation is projected to worsen. By 2030, diabetes treatment costs in Cambodia could rocket to $145.9 million. In addition, the fatality rate from this disease rose to 8,325 in 2022, and nearly 500,000 people have been diagnosed with diabetes.
The rates of diabetes among children and teenagers are especially alarming, and the root of the problem is clear. Unhealthy diets, saturated with sugary, canned drinks and fast foods, are increasingly common among the young population. Read more at: https://www.phnompenhpost.com/national-post-depth/childhood-diabetes-amid-sugar-epidemic
