Diabetes UK's Measure Up Roadshow Is A Success

Main Category: Diabetes
Article Date: 30 Jun 2009 - 6:00 PDT

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Diabetes UK has so far encouraged more than 10,000 people in the UK to measure their waists and find out if they are at risk of developing Type 2 diabetes with its national Measure Up Roadshow which kicked off on June 3.

The Measure Up Roadshow is touring the country until December in a bid to help people find out more about Type 2 diabetes and its risk factors. These include:

- Having a large waist
- being over 40 years old or over 25 if you are of Black or South Asian origin
- being of Black or South Asian origin and having a family history of the condition.

So far, the Roadshow has handed out 10,000 leaflets and flyers and reached thousands more people through the Measure Up media and marketing.

Philip Schofield asks you to Measure Up

The campaign is backed by TV presenter Phillip Schofield. He said: "I am delighted to be supporting Diabetes UK's Measure Up campaign which asks people to measure their waists and find out if they are at risk of Type 2 diabetes.

"My mother and brother both have diabetes so I know first-hand how it can impact a person and their family's life. As diabetes runs in my own family I ensure that my family and I try to lead a healthy lifestyle to reduce the risk of developing Type 2 diabetes.

"There are 2.25 million people diagnosed with Type 2 diabetes in the UK and another 500,000 who have the condition but don't know. I would urge everyone to visit one of Diabetes UK's Roadshows this year to discover if they could be one of those 500,000 and to find out more about diabetes.

"It is a serious condition and if untreated can lead to complications such as heart disease, stroke and blindness. The sooner people are diagnosed, the sooner they can start treating their diabetes and help reduce the risk of developing these devastating complications."

Dates and locations

The Measure Up Roadshow is visiting the Royal Norfolk Show on 1 and 2 July, St Austell on 1 and 2 July and Bradford on the 2 and 3 July.

Folow the link for further dates and locations of Roadshows in July, or find Roadshows under related links.

Source
Diabetes UK