Diabetes rises by 50% in five years fuelled by soaring levels of obesity

[grufflybear]

I have been listening to the news today and heard once again about the increase in diabetes resulting from the rampant obesity in our society. I still think that the message is distorted by the focus on extreme obesity, the waist measurement aspect did get a mention too but I still think that the other risk factors should receive the same attention, ie. genetic factors. The way it sounds is that diabetes is caused by obesity, yes of course there is a connection, but I do think the danger is that people who have other risks sit back and don't take notice just because they think they are not greatly overweight; If you actually do the BMI calculation properly and then look at the range which is considered safe, it is pretty lean.

I am reminded of something I must have mentioned before about the good friend who said I didn't look like a diabetic... as long as people are focused solely on the weight aspect there is a risk that many will not realise their own risk. I did not have the cliche unhealthy diet, no fast food has passed my lips for many years, but its still possible to be overweight eating too much good stuff and I was eating just a little too much of it and not exercising quite enough and the pounds slowly but surely added on.

One thing which would seem a good way for the NHS to use its resources is to publicise the facts about other risk factors too.

I will never know if I could have remained "non-diabetic" if I had taken the extra steps 5 years earlier and not put on those extra pounds but others would have the opportunity if the message wasn't always just focused on huge obesity.

Oh well I guess I can't expect the news on telly to be too technical... the information is all there and in the end I guess you can't force people to take any more notice than those who carry on smoking in the face of all the information and warning about that !

 

[squidge63]

I certainly do care Squide but im sick of losing weight for the wrong reasons i.e to fit in or to please others so I stopped and then realised I could not carry on as I have a son and I dont want to die before he hits his teens.I am big and I am happy the weight issues I have are at the bottom of a very large pile of my problems, I wont be bullied into losing weight I will do it my way and I am succseeding at the moment, I dont need some nasty mate calling me a fat ??$?""? to open my eye or a group of people fat bashing...I do try hard but it wont take over my life, i have good and bad days like most battling there weight but i will get there and when I do it will make me so proud

Sorry Steff this wasn't aim at anyone on here, whether we are a skinny diabetic or a larger diabetic we all know the results if we don't care of our health and diet and we all want to be around for our family and friends.. I was talking about the wider (no pun) community who have not got diabetes or health issues but who could be at risk of them.. Personally I don't care what size folks are, if they are happy at that weight good on them, that is their choice. I am thin in my legs and arms, my belly is my problem, I just did my bmi and it is down to 30.11 and still has me in the obese section (just).. I have been battling with my weight since the age of 11 and I am 47 now, I go through good days and bad days like we all do, but what brought it home to me was when I had the stroke in August, and 47 I never expected that, and I know some of the damage was done by my diet, and I want to live not die before I even get to 50..

sorry if words are missed out or repeated or spelled wrong I have problems since the stroke.

 

[Robster65]

I'm a bit late into this debate but I wanted to say that, as with excessive alcohol abuse, the demand vs supply thing is a bit chicken/egg. Most people under 40 have always had access to fast food and convenience meals, so it's become a cultural norm. The supermarkets and manufacturers are happy to package it as being healthy but use the cheapest ingredients, knowing it'll make people unhealthy. Modern jobs are usually fairly sedentary and not many people have to use their feet to get around. Modern towns and cities are generally not geared up for pedestrians.

ALso, it's known that diabetes, until diagnosed, will cause the sufferer to gain weight. There is a complete lack of advice after diagnosis and very little support, including a reluctance to supply test strips.

So why don't DUK and others try to get the messages out there that we need to limit the amount of unhelthy food sold (by law if needed), make urban areas a lot more pleasant to walk/cycle around and force GPs to give out test strips so that diabetics can see what foods will do damage and what won't, along with real world advice and support ?

Instead they push out pictures of the healthy eating plate from the middle stone age and campaign for fat people to get thin.

I really would like to meet their publicity department and discover what planet they reside on.🙄

Rob

 

[Copepod]

Actually, NICE is working on public health advice about walking and cycling, which includes "local measures to promote walking and cycling as a form of travel or recreation" - probably including Rob's desire to "make urban areas a lot more pleasant to walk/cycle around"

http://guidance.nice.org.uk/PHG/Wave20/84 (publication due October 2012)

 

[Northerner]

Southampton is pretty good for green spaces, you can walk through parks right through the city centre, plus Southampton Common is enormous just outside the centre and there are many parks in the suburbs - I live within 5 minutes of a beautiful park that runs alongside the river and you can have a very pleasant 3-5 mile walk depending on the route you take. The New Forest is pretty close too.

Sheffield was great - you could walk through parks right out into the Peak District. 🙂

 

[Robster65]

Swindon was good too. But if you go into London (even a few feet into the subrbs) there's too much road traffic and no real incentive to travel by any other means. Unless you want to get somewhere in a rush.

I suspect there's far worse places too. Some of the older towns have narrow, windy streets that would be death traps for cyclists and in hilly areas it's probably not practical for all but the fittest. I can see why most people don't want to go outside and walk or exercise. Far easier and more pleasant to stay in, watch TV, surf the net and eat snack foods. I would if my life didn't depend so obviously on taking more interest.

Rob