Health minister cautions pregnant women on ‘cosmetics,’ junk food

ISSA YUSSUF in Zanzibar

ZANZIBAR Minister for Health Mahmoud Thabit Kombo has cautioned pregnant mothers against using cosmetics and contaminated foods which are not prescribed to them by medical practitioners for they risk giving birth to babies with diabetes.

“Some researches indicate that chemicals in plastics, cosmetics and toys may be linked to a higher chance of developing diabetes,” Mr Kombo said at a press conference here while marking ‘World Diabetes Day (WDD) that is being celebrated annually on November 14.
Explaining why many children are being diagnosed with diabetes, the minister also blamed modern lifestyle where many prefer junk food, smoking and being idleness as other risks which make pregnant mothers to become susceptible to contract avoidable diseases and give birth to babies with diabetes.
The minister said that by last month, 3.7 per cent of Zanzibar’s 1.4 million people were diabetic with an average of three hundred of them being recorded annually, adding that the disease’s increase is scarring in children.
He cautioned that chemicals are used as preservatives and softening agents in plastics and perfumes for good odour, hence their use puts one at risk of diabetes’ infections.
“A pregnant mother should avoid cosmetics which are not recommended during pregnancy. She should only avoid some food with recommendations from Clinics, but give priority to frequent physical exercise to keep her body well balanced,” Mr Kombo said.
He appealed to the people to take into account factors that are known to cause type 2 kind of diabetes, naming them as obesity, smoking and high cholesterol.