We’re delighted to announce that we have teamed up with Voices for Autism to host our first Autism Health and Wellbeing Conference. This event is aimed at parents, carers and teachers of children with autism and will cover a range to topics to empower attendees with the information they need to successfully care for a child with autism.

On the day we’ll be looking at therapeutic options and the impact of nutrition and physical activity on autism. We’ll also explore autism friendly initiatives and hear personal stories from parents.

Autism is quite common in the UK affecting approximately 700,000 people. It is a lifelong developmental disability that affects how a person sees the world. It also affects how a person communicates with, and relates to other people. It is a spectrum condition which means people with autism have a range of difficulties in common but it affects everyone differently. It can be hard for those caring for a child with autism to find support and advice on how to manage their child’s condition and so organisations like Voices for Autism have been organising a range of much-needed support services.

Our conference aims to connect parents, experts, teachers and carers to create the perfect environment for shared learning.

This conference will be held on Saturday 15th July at the Bernard Weatherhill Community Space in Croydon. More details will be available from April 2017, but please save the date.

For more information please email events@thelakefoundation.com

The Lake Foundation has teamed up with Diabetes UK to run a 12 month Diabetes Community Champion project in Croydon that is aimed at the African and African-Caribbean community.   Through this project we’re hoping to raise awareness of diabetes and how it can be prevented, and for those with diabetes, provide information on  how best to manage their condition and secure better health outcomes.

We’re currently looking for volunteers to take on the role of Diabetes Community Champions.

Diabetes Community Champions will raise awareness of diabetes and this may involve giving presentations, hosting information tables at events, distributing leaflets and information, taking part in local radio interviews, writing blogs and exploring creative ways of engaging with the black community.  In addition volunteers, if interested, can work with local GPs to identify pre-diabetics and work with them on a one-to-one basis to reduce their risk through a behaviour change programme.

Community Champions can dedicate as much time as they are able to this project, but ideally we’d like volunteers to commit to at least 1 – 2 days a month to ensure we can make the most impact possible.

Full training will be provided to all volunteers.

If you’re interested in being a Diabetes Community Champion, please complete an online registration form here or email info@thelakefoundation.com for more information.

The All-Party Parliamentary Group on Women’s Health is a cross-party group of MPs and Peers in the UK Parliament of Westminster. They have launched an inquiry into whether women are given an informed choice about the treatment options available for particular conditions. Fibroids and endometriosis are among the conditions the group would like to shine a spotlight on.

The group will produce a report which will assess if women are given an informed choice about treatment options and outline what improvements  need to be made.

As part of this inquiry the group is inviting interested parties to submit written evidence. Evidence can be submitted via the following links (endometriosis) (fibroids) or emailed directly to appgwh@mailpbconsulting.com using the pro forma below. Patient experience, anecdotal evidence as well as any sort of data would be gratefully received.

The group would like to hear about current practice as well as potential barriers and issues in order to understand what key recommendations the group can take forward. The group will be accepting written evidence until the end of February 2017.

If you’ve been affected by fibroids we strongly encourage you to submit written evidence on your experience when you were offered treatment. This will make a significant difference and help identify any issues that exist can be identified so that these can be addressed to ensure that the diagnosis and treatment pathway for all women is improved.

If you would like any further information about the inquiry or the group’s work more generally, please contact the group secretariat at appgwh@mailpbconsulting.com or call 020 7735 6963.

This week Prostate Cancer UK launched their ‘Stronger Knowing More’ campaign which is aimed at black men and puts the spotlight on the fact that black men have a significantly higher risk of developing prostate cancer. Black men have a 1 in 4 chance of developing prostate cancer, which is double the risk faced by all men who have a 1 in 8 chance of developing prostate cancer.

In addition to this increased risk of developing this devastating disease black mean are twice as likely to die from prostate cancer.  Black men have a 1 in 12 lifetime risk of dying from prostate cancer whilst all men have a 1 in 24 lifetime risk of developing prostate.

As a result of these alarming statistics Prostate Cancer UK recognised the importance of ensuring that all black men are aware of their risk so they can take steps to do something about it.

Prostate Cancer UK’s Stronger Knowing More campaign uses positive and empowering portraits of black men from the worlds of sport, politics and the arts as a show of strength against prostate cancer. Former WBA World Heavyweight champion David Haye, Olympic gold medallist, Linford Christie and Labour MP, Chuka Umunna are among the well-known faces supporting this campaign.

Stronger Knowing More is calling on the black community to confront the increased risk of prostate cancer and break down longstanding taboos that have prevented black men from speaking about the disease.

It is not known why black men have an increased risk of developing prostate cancer but genetics is thought to play a role. We can all do something about this by being aware of the symptoms and men acting quickly and visiting their doctor, without delay, if they have symptoms they are concerned about.

For more information about black men’s risk of developing prostate cancer visit Prostate Cancer UK’s website here, view the video below or if you have any concerns you can call their helpline 0800 074 8383.

The Lake Foundation is delighted to announce that we have received a grant from Croydon Council to work in collaboration with Diabetes UK to run a Diabetes Community Champion project in Croydon

This grant will support the cost of running this project for a year which aims to raise awareness of diabetes amongst the African and African-Caribbean community in Croydon who are three times more likely to develop the condition. The project’s focus will be on encouraging people to make lifestyle changes to reduce their risk of developing diabetes and this will involve raising awareness throughout Croydon and also working closely with pre-diabetics.

We’ll be recruiting Diabetes Community Champions who will be fully trained and will become the lifeblood of the project by getting out in the community to reach as many people as possible.

We are very grateful to Croydon Council for supporting us to tackle this very important health issue in the black community and we look forward to working with Diabetes UK.

If you’re interested in becoming a Diabetes Community Champion, please email info@thelakefoundation.com for more information.

Public Health England this week revealed that results from a recent survey suggest that children are consuming half of their daily recommended sugar intake before the morning school bell rings.

Their research shows that children consume more than 11g of sugar (almost 3 cubes) at breakfast alone. The government recommends that 4 to 6 year olds consume no more than 5 cubes a day and 7 to 10 year olds consume no more than 6 cubes a day. The main sources of these high levels of  sugar are cereals, drinks and spreads.

The research was conducted in November 2016 and involved 200 parents of children aged 4 to 10 years old completing an online survey about their child’s breakfast. The survey also revealed that, as well as children’s consuming too much sugar, 84% of parents whose children were consuming more that 11g of sugar at breakfast thought that they were giving their child a healthy breakfast. This means there needs to be some clarity around the content of breakfast foods to ensure parents are making informed choices about the food they buy.

To address this issue Public Health England’s Change4Life programme have launched the ‘Be Food Smart’ campaign which is encouraging parents to be more aware of the sugar, saturated fat and salt content of the food they buy. It also aims to educate parents of the harm caused by eating unhealthy food.

To support this campaign, Change4Life have developed an app that allows parents to scan the barcodes of products and get a breakdown of their sugar, saturated fat and salt content.  It also provides hints and tips on how to cut down on unhealthy foods and the app also has fun features like food detective activities and missions for the whole family.

The app free and is available on the iTune Store or Google Play.

For more information visit Change4Life’s website.

Croydon Council recently launched a health and well-being website called JustBe. This website aims to get local people to adopt a healthier lifestyle by offering a number of recommendations and pointing Croydon residents to local services. To get their messages across they use a variety of tools such as apps, podcasts, expert advice, videos, diet plans and exercise routes.

The JustBe online health programme focuses on six key health and well-being areas which include: eating a healthy diet, being more active, drinking less alcohol, improving mental health, cutting out smoking and maintaining healthy sexual relationships. By focusing on these areas it is hoped that  local inequalities will be addressed and improved.

Croydon residents can start by completing a health MoT which is a quick online assessment which provides a short report with some suggestions on how to improve your health and well-being. Following this, residents can explore the website which is divided into the six health and well-being areas under the headings:

• Be happy
• Be active
• Be alcohol aware
• Be sex safe
• Be food smart
• Be smoke free

You can also register to receive weekly tips and advice by email from Croydon Council’s leading health guru and explore a range of health tools which include apps, podcasts, expert advice, videos, diet plans and exercise routes.

The Council will continue to expand the services available in the JustBe programme and next year one-to-one support from experts will be available. These sessions will last for up to 52 weeks and will be based on current best practice around behaviour change.

Councillor Louisa Woodley, cabinet minister for families, health and social care said:

“The new JustBe Croydon website means residents are just a click away to self-help and encouragement to lead happier and healthier lives”

The Lake Foundation encourages all Croydon residents to get online and visit JustBe for some useful health information.  You can find JustBe here , follow them on Twitter (@JustBeCroydon) and ‘like’ them on Facebook (JustBeCroydon).

We are delighted to announce our fibroids Twitter chat on Wednesday 18^th January 2017 from 7pm-8pm. We will be joined by special guests Dr Sydney Dillard, CEO of Fighting Fibroids and Renee Brown Small Co-founder of The Fibroids Project with host, our own Abi Begho, founder of The Lake Foundation.

This Twitter chat has been organised to allow for an in-depth discussion on fibroids, what they are, why black women are more at risk, symptoms, treatment and more.

We’ll be putting questions to our expert panel and you can put your questions to them too. So if you have a burning question about fibroids or just want to get involved in the discussion then do join us on the day. To take part in the conversation please use the hashtag #FibroidsChat.

We look forward to tweeting with you!

Yesterday, the UK government published its policy document, ‘Overview of Legislation in Draft’,  which outlines the changes to tax law which the government plans to introduce in its 2017 finance bill, in secondary legislation and in future finance bills.

This draft legislation includes information on the soft drinks industry levy (sugar tax) which will come info effect from April 2018.

With regards to the sugar tax the Overview of Legislation in Draft says:

“As announced at Budget 2016, and following consultation on the design and implementation of the levy over the summer, the government will legislate in Finance Bill 2017 for the Soft Drinks Industry Levy. This is a levy on importers and producers of beverages that contain added sugar to help tackle childhood obesity. The 2 thresholds, at 5g and 8g of sugar per 100ml have been designed so that, by taking reasonable steps to reduce sugar content, UK producers and importers of soft drinks can pay less or escape the charge altogether. The levy will take effect from April 2018.

 

There will be an exemption for the smallest operators and a credit against levy liability, subject to evidence, for liable drinks that are exported.”

The government expects the sugar tax to raise £520M in its first year and these funds will be used to double the funding available to primary schools for PE and sports programme. The government has estimated that the sugar levy will raise £320 million a year for primary schools to support healthier more active lifestyles in children. The funding will not only go towards expanding PE and sports programmes but to also expand breakfast clubs in primary schools ensuring that children have access to a healthy breakfast every week day.

The government has also published a full policy document on the sugar tax which gives further information on the objectives of the tax, who it will affect and how it will be monitored.

The Lake Foundation is glad to see that the government is making progress on implementing the sugar tax and hope that it will go some way to tackling obesity in the UK.

Have you been diagnosed with fibroids? Are you considering treatment options, or have you recently received treatment for fibroids? Then the fibroids patient support group at Guy’s and St Thomas’ Hospital may be of interest to you.

Living with fibroids and being asked to make a decision around surgical options can be emotional and difficult for both you and your loved ones. So, Transforming Outcomes and Health Economics Through Imaging (TOHETI) organise regular fibroids support sessions that  provide a safe, informal setting for  patients to meet other women and share their questions and concerns, both before and after surgery. All are welcome to attend, you do not need to be a patient of Guy’s and St Thomas’.

The next session will be on Monday 23rd January, 6:00 – 7:30pm at the  McNair Centre, Guy’s Hospital. Refreshments will be provided.

This next session will  include a presentation from Dr Irfan Ahmed, Consultant Interventional Radiologist, Guy’s and St Thomas’. Dr Ahmed will talk more about a minimally invasive procedure he performs called uterine artery embolization, and answer any questions you may have.

For more information and to book a place at this session please, email fibroids@kcl.ac.uk or just turn up on the evening!