Overweight? Beware diabetes warns charity
November 29, 2009 by Sikhs Online · Leave a Comment
Charity Diabetes UK has begun urging people to check their weight in a campaign to raise awareness of how being overweight can damage health – especially when it involves diabetes, which the organisation describes as Britain’s biggest health risk.
According to the National Obesity Forum (NOF), research shows that nearly half of adults have an inaccurate picture of their own weight – meaning, typically, that they underestimate it.
National Obesity Week (November 2-8) was heralded by a shock report that the number of people diagnosed with diabetes in the UK had increased by more than 145,000 in the previous year. People of South Asian origin are among the vulnerable sectors of society.
New data from GP practices showed that there are now more than 2.6 million people with diabetes in the UK and more than 5.2 million registered as obese.
In addition, there are up to half a million people in the UK who have Type 2 diabetes and don’t know it.
One in every 10 people is being treated for obesity and one in 20 for diabetes.
Around 90 per cent of people with diabetes have Type 2 diabetes, which is often, but not always, linked to lifestyle factors such as being overweight or obese, leading a sedentary lifestyle and eating an unhealthy diet.
According to the International Diabetes Federation (IDF), worldwide, 80 per cent of people with Type 2 diabetes are overweight or obese at the time of diagnosis.
Douglas Smallwood, chief executive of Diabetes UK, described the figures as extremely worrying.
“Diabetes is a serious condition that causes heart disease, stroke, amputations, kidney failure and blindness, and more deaths than breast and prostate cancer combined,” he said. “Many, but not all, people with Type 2 diabetes are overweight or obese, therefore we need to do all we can to raise awareness of diabetes and help people understand how following a balanced diet and leading an active lifestyle can help reduce their risk of developing Type 2 diabetes”.
“If we don’t stop the rising tides of obesity and diabetes, millions will face a future of ill-health and will put an ever-growing strain on NHS resources.”
Type 2 diabetes can go undetected for ten years or more, which means that around half of people already have complications by the time they are diagnosed.
Risk factors for Type 2 diabetes include:
- Having a large waist* or being overweight
- Being of Black or South Asian origin
- Having a family history of the condition
- Being over 40 years old, or over 25 if you’re Black, Asian or from an ethnic minority group.
*At-risk waist measurements are 37 inches or more for men, except those of South Asian origin who are at risk at 35 inches or more, and 31.5 inches or more for all women.
Saturday November 14 was set as World Diabetes Day for 2009. WDD is the primary global awareness campaign of the diabetes world, established by the International Diabetes Federation (IDF) and the World Health Organisation (WHO) in response to the rise of diabetes worldwide.
The IDF’s World Diabetes Day theme for 2009 to 2013 is ‘Diabetes Education and Prevention’. This broad theme allows everyone affected by diabetes to take part in the campaign. The campaign slogan for 2009 is ‘Understand Diabetes and Take Control’.
