Diabetes has its day on stage

A boy who was diagnosed with diabetes at the age of 5 is living a comfortable life well into old age, because he follows doctors' suggestions on medications, diet and exercise.

The story is a fictional drama but based on real-life, presented by an innovative hospital in Beijing last week.

To raise public awareness of diabetes control a day before International Diabetes Day (Nov 14), the drama was created and staged at China-Japan Friendship Hospital by its medical staff members and diabetes patients.

"Diabetes hits younger and more people now in China," says Yang Wenying, a diabetes specialist with the hospital.

"It is urgent to educate people about the disease, how to prevent it and how to control it."

China has one-third of the world's diabetic population. The adult diabetes rate in China has hit 11.6 percent, the highest in the world, says a recent study by researchers in China published in the Journal of the American Medical Association.