ISLAMABAD: The Pakistan National Heart Association (Panah) organised an awareness walk in connection with World Diabetes Day on Friday.

The walk brought together representatives of civil society, media, students, youth and public health advocates to raise awareness about diabetes prevention and demand effective government policies to promote healthier food choices.

Munawar Hussain, Health and Nutrition Policy Expert, shared technical evidence on the harmful effects of excessive sugar consumption, particularly through sweetened beverages. He highlighted that sweetened beverages provide excessive amounts of added sugar without essential nutritional benefits and increase the risk of type 2 diabetes, obesity and other metabolic disorders.

He emphasized that regular consumption of sugary drinks and ultra-processed food products is contributing to the growing diabetes burden and urged the government to adopt effective fiscal and regulatory measures to discourage their consumption. One of the best policy measures is enactment of Front-of-Pack Warning Labels (FOPWL).

Published in Dawn, November 14th, 2026