Narendra Modi
Pictured: Narendra ModiReuters

Prime Minister Narendra Modi, on World Health Day, tried to educate Indians about diabetes. Modi wrote on Twitter that a healthy lifestyle is key to overcoming diabetes.

"Our Lifestyle is the biggest cause for diabetes. If every citizen of my country is healthy, then my country will be healthy. I call upon you to defeat diabetes, which plays host to so many diseases," Modi said in his message to Indians on World Health Day.

Modi also put out an excerpt from last month's "Mann ki Baat," where he had urged people to take some time out for outdoor activities and indulge in exercises such as Yoga and running.

He said it was a matter of concern that even the games people play nowadays are mostly online.

"We have to revive offline culture. Reduced physical activity has led to serious complications and inevitably diabetes," the prime minister said.

India, the diabetes capital of the world, had 6.5 crore diabetics in 2014. Three percent deaths in India annually occur due to the diabetes, Modi added.

While educating people on diabetes, Modi said everyone should be cautious about both Type 1 and Type 2 diabetes and that  they could be prevented by adopting healthier lifestyles.

Meanwhile, the union health ministry would launch key educational initiatives such as Swasthya Bharat mobile application. Apart from this, Indian Council of Medical research (ICMR) diabetes India study report and World Health Organisation (WHO) India technical report on diabetes will also be released Thursday.

The theme of this year's World Health Day is centered around diabetes. The WHO said the number of people living with the diabetes has jumped four times since 1980 to 422 million adults in 2014, with a majority of diabetics living in developing countries.

The WHO said the common reasons driving this dramatic rise include overweight and obesity. WHO's Assistant Director-General for Non-communicable diseases( NCDs) and Mental Health Oleg Chestnov called upon the governments to implement the global commitments to address diabetes and other NCDSs.

The targets include meeting Sustainable Development Goal target of reducing the premature deaths from NCDs, including diabetes, by 30 percent.