It’s World Health Day today and the theme is ‘Beat Diabetes’ with the World Health Organisation calling for global action to halt the rise in and improve care for people with diabetes.

The WHO reports that the number of people living with diabetes has almost quadrupled since 1980 with 422 million adults worldwide living with this condition.

As part of WHO’s work to tackle diabetes, they have published their first global report on diabetes. The report calls on governments to develop strategies that would enable their citizens to make healthy choices and to ensure that health systems are effective enough to diagnose diabetes early and care for people with the condition. It also encourages everyone to make the personal decision and commit to living a healthy lifestyle, so eating healthily, being physically active and maintaining a healthy weight, all of which can reduce risk of developing diabetes.

Diabetes is more common in the black community and it’s very important for the black community to pay attention today and follow all the advice being issued by organisers of the Beat Diabetes campaign – eat healthily; be active; if in doubt, get checked; and if you have diabetes, follow a treatment plan so you can live well.

You can download WHO’s full report below.

This week, Public Health England announced that it has launched a new improved prostate cancer pack to help GPs and other healthcare professionals discuss the PSA test with men.  This new pack is part of the Prostate Cancer Risk Management Programme and consists of an evidence document for GPs, summary information sheets for GPs and summary information sheets for men aged 50 and over.

The PSA test is a blood test that can be helpful as part of the process of diagnosing prostate cancer but it is not accurate enough to be used as a screening test. Men who are over 50 can book an appointment with their GP if they have concerns about prostate cancer and would like to discuss the PSA test and this new pack will ensure that these appointments are as useful and informative as possible.

Dr Anne Mackie from Public Health England said:

“The decision about whether a man takes a PSA test is a complex one and has to be thought through carefully. Our new information pack will make it easier for GPs to have this conversation with their patients, and assist men in making a decision that is right for them”

Prostate cancer is more common in black men with black men being twice as likely to develop prostate cancer as their white counterparts. We hope that these new packs will create a better understanding of prostate cancer and the use of the PSA test and thus facilitate the early diagnosis of this disease.

Yesterday, NHS England announced that up to 100,000 people in England will be offered places on their new diabetes prevention programme to stop them developing type 2 diabetes.

The programme will start this year in 27 locations offering 20,000 people the opportunity to enrol in the programme. The programme will be rolled out across England by 2020 giving up to 100,000 people access to this programme.

The NHS’s programme will give tailored, practical support to reduce a person’s risk of developing type two diabetes. This will include education on healthy eating and lifestyle, weight loss advice and tailored physical activity programmes.

The programme has been piloted in seven demonstrator sites over the past year. They  have been testing approaches to delivering  the programme and the results of this work has shaped the final programme to ensure the best results for patients.  The seven demonstrator sites are: Birmingham South and Central CCG, Bradford City CCG, Durham County Council, Herefordshire CCG/LA, Medway CCG/LA, Salford CCG/LA and Southwark Council and CCG.

We are delighted to hear of the rollout of this programme. The black community is at a higher risk of developing diabetes when compared to their white counterparts and this programme will be of huge benefit to our community. We strongly encourage the NHS to engage effectively with the black community and we strongly recommend that black people take part in this programme.

You can read more about NHS’s new Diabetes Prevention Programme here

A new study has found that many foods contain higher amounts of salt than ever before. This comes five years after the food industry signed a voluntary code pledging to reduce salt levels in foods. The study from CASH discovered that foods including cheese and certain ready meals had much larger levels of salt than in previous years. There were many foods which contained surprising amounts including soups. Nearly 50% of the soups featured in the study contained, at a minimum, similar amounts to slices of pizza.

Some everyday foods had huge increases. The study found that the salt content of Sainsbury’s cornflakes increased by 42 per cent in recent years.

Consuming high amounts of salt may raise your blood pressure, and increases your risk of developing coronary heart disease. People of African descent are sensitive to the effects of too much salt and are therefore at higher risk of associated health conditions such as high blood pressure, stroke and renal failure. Adults should not eat more than 6 grams per day. You can learn more about this report here.

A new study has linked high dietary fibre with a reduced risk of breast cancer. The study of over 90,000 women compared the incidence of breast cancer in those who had diets high in fibrous foods (such as potatoes) with those who consumed less.

The risk of breast cancer was 12%-19% lower in young women with higher fibre diets. High intake during adolescence was also associated with 24% lower risk of breast cancer before menopause. Among all the women, the relationship between fibre intake and breast cancer risk reduction was the same: the greater the intake, the greater the reduction in breast cancer risk. Fibre from vegetable and fruit sources had the most obvious benefits.

The reasons for this effect are not yet completely understood but the study authors have suggested that fibre-rich foods reduce oestrogen levels and high oestrogen levels are associated with breast cancer development.

Women from the African and African-Caribbean community have already been noted to have poorer outcomes in relation to breast cancer when compared to white women.  It has also been reported that Black women tend to develop breast cancer earlier. Increasing dietary fibre certainly appears to be another weapon in the fight against breast cancer.

You can read more about this study here.

A new study has reported that breastfeeding could save the lives of thousands of children worldwide.  It could prevent over 800,000 children from dying and could also prevent an extra 22,000 deaths from breast cancer each year.

The study also looked at the reasons why  many women do not breastfeed and these include: little support from the mother’s own community, particular government policies, and the marketing practices of the formula milk manufacturers.

Worldwide, the rates for breastfeeding appear high: 80% but drops to just 37% in low and middle income countries. In high income countries such as the UK, under 1% of babies were breastfed up until their first birthday. This figure was approximately 2% in Ireland.  The study authors concluded that more work needs to be done to improve government breastfeeding policies and support within the general community.

Breastfeeding in the UK Black community has been investigated in a previous study. Figures showed that over 90% of Black African and Black Caribbean mothers start breastfeeding compared to just 67% of white mothers. Black African mothers in particular were 5 times more likely to breastfeed than white mothers.  Any new government breastfeeding policy should also specifically look at maintaining and improving breastfeeding rates within the UK Black community.

You can read more about this report here and here

A new report has highlighted that today’s children are not active enough. Children as young as two spend much more time playing with ipads, computers and similar gadgets than exercising. UK guidelines recommend that children under 5 years of age should be physically active for a minimum of 3 hours a day. Those between 5 and 15 should be active for a minimum of one hour each day.

The report notes that over 80% of pre-school children do not exercise for  even an hour a day. Some of the reasons for the lack of activity include parents using ipads as modern-day dummies (to keep children entertained).  Children also do less walking and are more likely to be driven between locations. 

The health implications linked with low physical activity in children are numerous. It can affect brain, bone and muscle development. It is also associated with higher rates of obesity and type 2 diabetes.  Children who develop good exercise habits are more likely to maintain these into adulthood and therefore reduce their risk of obesity and type 2 diabetes. This is of particular importance to people of African and African-Caribbean descent who already exhibit high rates of these conditions.  

Parents can encourage physical activity in their children in a variety of ways including short walks and playing traditional physical games.

You can read more about this report and gain tips for increasing physical activity in children here.

Following our successful short bikeability summer courses with The Cycling Instructor we’re delighted to be launching a new cycling club starting next month.   As part of this project we’re looking for a friendly, outgoing person to take on the role of a part-time cycling club coordinator.

As a cycling coordinator you will be the main point of contact for our cycling club liaising with both the instructors and club members. You’ll be responsible for helping the instructors organise each cycling session and keeping everyone well-informed about the club’s activities. You can also get involved in the creative marketing side by promoting the group on social media and in the local area and you’ll be responsible for evaluating the impact of the project.

To find out more about this role please download the job description below or email info@thelakefoundation.com

An interesting new study has linked sweet drinks with body fat. The study has shown that drinking sugary drinks (such as coke) every day increases a type of body fat known as visceral fat. This type of fat surrounds particular organs in our bodies such as the pancreas and the liver. Visceral fat is important because it is linked to the development of type 2 diabetes and heart disease.

The study of a 1,003 people(average age of 45 years) compared the effects of sugary soda with diet soda drinks on visceral fat. The participants completed questionnaires about their food and drink consumption andbody fat levels were recorded using CT scans.  The participants were followed up over a period of 6 years and the authors found that those who drank sugary soda most frequently (daily) had the highest levels of visceral fat. However, there was no change in visceral fat levels in those who drank diet soda drinks.

People of African and African-Caribbean descent (and other ethnic minorities) have an increased risk of developing type 2 diabetes and heart disease. Reducing the drinking frequency or finding alternatives to these drinks may help to reduce the risk of these conditions.

You can read more about this report here and here.

The Lake Foundation is delighted to announce that we have received a grant from Sport England, an organisation committed to helping people and their communities create sporting habits for life.  

This grant will support the full cost of running our new cycling club for a year which aims to encourage people in our local community to get more active. The club will be open to everyone but will focus on encouraging more African Caribbean people and women to cycle.

We are very grateful to Sport England for supporting us and believing in our project and look forward to our club members not only getting some great exercise but discovering the beauty of South London as we cycle through the lovely green spaces of Croydon and the surrounding area.

Our cycling club begins on Saturday 13^th February  at 10am, for more information please email events@thelakefoundation.com or keep an eye on our website.