Mumbai: A walkathon, street play and several other events were held in Mumbai Sunday on the eve of World Diabetes Day, with experts advising people to maintain an active lifestyle to avoid diabetes and other diseases.

Over 300 people participated in the walkathon organised by the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) in association with Abbott Diabetes Blue Fortnight - a diabetes awareness campaign - across 27 wards of the city.

A street play was also organised by the BMC to encourage fellow Mumbaikars to take up running, walking and other exercises.

"Walking and regular physical exercise go a great extent towards managing diabetes", said Sonal Modi, chief nutritionist at Diabetes Endocrine Nutrition Management and Research Centre.

According to the International Diabetes Federation (IDF), the global diabetic population has reached a staggering 366 million in 2011, and healthcare spending on the disease has reached $465 billion.

It added that in the current year, one person is dying from diabetes every seven seconds.

"IDF's latest data is proof indeed that diabetes is a massive challenge the world can no longer afford to ignore. In India, about five percent of people who come in for bariatric surgery now are coming exclusively to cure diabetes," said Ramen Goel, a Mumbai-based bariatric surgeon.