Diabetes Week 10-16 June
Diabetes week runs from 10-16 June this year, highlighting the importance of ensuring we are all aware of the risks and symptoms of diabetes in order to do our best to prevent a diagnosis and control symptoms for those who receive one. Do you know how to keep your risk at a minimum?
All of the following health ailments will increase your risk of developing type 2 diabetes:
- High blood pressure
- Depression ad anxiety
- Being aged over 49
- Heart attack or stroke
- Having a parent or sibling with diabetes
- Being of an ethnic background that isn’t White European
- Being overweight or obese
- Having a large waist (31.5” for women and 37” for men or 35” for South Asian men)
90% of people diagnosed have type 2 diabetes, which is often associated with the above points and risk factors. Type 1 diabetes accounts for only 10% of those diagnosed, and is treated with daily insulin injections, with a healthy diet and regular exercise also being recommended. There is a possibility that type 2 diabetes can be treated through good diet and regular exercise alone, as well as keeping all risk factors to a minimum.
Diabetes is a condition that causes a person’s blood sugar level to become too high, due to a lack of insulin resistance. When blood sugar becomes too high, glucose will spill out into the urine rather than being used as energy. As a consequence, symptoms such as extreme thirst, excess urination, chronic tiredness, blurred vision and slow healing of wounds can occur. 3.5 million of the UK population has been diagnosed with diabetes, 2.1 million more than 20 years ago. Each day 65 people will die due to diabetes complications.
As we mentioned, it is vital to keep your risk factors to a minimum in order to give yourself the best defense of avoiding a type 2 diabetes diagnoses. So how do you keep these risk factors low and if you have already been diagnosed with diabetes, how do you best manage it?
- Have regular blood sugar level checks to ensure stability, if necessary
- Eat a healthy and well rounded diet
- Gain a thorough understanding of diabetic management to ensure your best chances of stabilising and diminishing the condition
- Retain a healthy body weight and do not carry excess body fat
- Exercise regularly
Studies have also shown that weight loss and exercise could lower the risk of developing type 2 diabetes by approximately 58%.
Are you guarding yourself from a diabetes diagnosis?
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