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

Last week, Diabetes UK reported that the number of people living with diabetes has risen by a staggering 60% over the past 10 years.  They stated that 3.3 million people in the UK have some form of the condition which is up from 2.1 million in 2005.

About  90% of diabetes cases are type II which is strongly linked to lifestyle  (diet and obesity) therefore we can reverse this trend by encouraging the UK’s population to change their lifestyle and adopt a healthy lifestyle.

The black community is three times more likely to develop diabetes and hence it is important that we take note of these statistics and make a concerted effort to do something about this.

As a community we have to look at our diet, make changes and get more active in order to beat this condition.

On Sunday 14^th June we had the pleasure of delivering a black health awareness workshop at the Right Now Jesus Centre in Catford.  It was wonderful to work with such an enthusiastic, friendly and energetic congregation; it was really a fun two hours, despite the serious topic.

During the workshop we covered type two diabetes, high blood pressure, stroke, heart disease, prostate cancer and fibroids. We talked about what these conditions are, their risk factors and why they are more common in the black community. We also asked the congregation to work in groups to discuss these issues and encouraged attendees to  adopt a healthy lifestyle by eating a healthy  diet and getting active. We went into detail on some of the specific changes that people can make to achieve a healthier lifestyle and finished off the workshop by asking attendees to think about three things that they will change as they work towards a adopting a healthy lifestyle.

This was  really good event and we thoroughly enjoyed spending time with such an engaged audience.

“This workshop was beautifully presented!”

 

“Excellent, I learnt a lot.”

 

“Very informative.”

In January 2015 the Barbados Diabetes Reversal Study, a pilot study aimed at reversing type two diabetes, will begin. It will explore whether type two diabetes can be reversed by patients adopting a low calorie diet and maintaining a healthy weight.

Participants will be given a low calorie liquid diet for eight weeks with non-starchy vegetables making sure that they receive all the necessary vitamins and minerals. This will then be followed by a 6 month period where participants will resume a normal healthy diet.

The study will be funded by Virgin Unite and builds on research conducted in the UK by Prof Roy Taylor.

If you’re from Barbados and would like to take part in this study you’ll need to have been diagnosed with the condition within the past 6 years.  For more information and to register please contact reversediabetes246@gmail.com or 1 246 266 5673