Measure Up Roadshow Rocks Up To Stoke-on-Trent , Diabetes UK

Main Category: Diabetes
Article Date: 22 Mar 2009 - 2:00 PST

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The Diabetes UK Measure Up roadshow will visit Stoke-on-Trent between 18 and 24 March to help people in the area find out more about diabetes and discover whether they are at risk of developing Type 2 diabetes.

The roadshow will come to Old Street Hall on 18 and 19 March, to Festival Retail Park, Ridge House Drive on 20 and 21 March, and outside Tesco Extra, Bath Road, Longton on 23 and 24 March between 9am and 5pm.

All people will be given the chance to have their risk of developing Type 2 diabetes assessed and Diabetes UK staff including Care Advisors will be on hand to provide information about diabetes and support anyone affected by the condition.

Watch your waist

The Diabetes UK Measure Up campaign, in partnership with NHS Stoke-on-Trent, encourages people to measure their waists to see if they are at risk of Type 2 diabetes, as having a large waist means you are up to 12 times more likely to develop diabetes.

At-risk waist measurements are 37 inches or more for men, except those of South Asian origin who are at risk at 35 inches or more, and 31.5 inches or more for all women.

"Diabetes is one of the biggest health challenges facing us today," said Peter Shorrick, Regional Manager for Diabetes UK West Midlands.

"There are about 13,000 people diagnosed with diabetes in Stoke-on-Trent and another 2,400 who have Type 2 diabetes but do not know it. If untreated, the condition can lead to complications such as heart disease, stroke and kidney disease.

"Some people can go undiagnosed with Type 2 diabetes for up to ten years and around half of people already have signs of complications by the time they are diagnosed. The sooner people find out they have the condition, the sooner they can start managing their diabetes and reduce the risk of life-threatening complications."

Other risk factors

Other risk factors for diabetes include being aged over 40, or 25 for people of Black and South Asian origin, or having a family history of Type 2 diabetes. Diabetes UK recommends that anyone with two or more risk factors should come along to the roadshows in Stoke and get your risk of developing diabetes assessed.

Dr Maureen Whiskin, Head of Health Improvement at NHS Stoke-on-Trent, said: "We are really pleased to be working with Diabetes UK to bring the Measure Up campaign to Stoke-on-Trent and are urging people to attend the roadshows to find out more about the condition. It's vital that people look into whether they are at risk of developing diabetes, as it is second only to smoking as the leading cause of heart disease in the UK.

"By the time people find out they have the condition, more than half of those with Type 2 have already developed signs of heart disease, so I would urge people to go along and attend one of the roadshows to find out more."

The Diabetes UK Measure Up campaign, which runs until 30 March, also includes outdoor, print, radio and online advertising as well as Measure Up leaflet drops.

Source
Diabetes UK

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