Diabetes and the Mindset to change your life.
Warning serious topic coming up…. and its a long article…
Type 2 Diabetes effects around 4 Million people in the UK. And a massive 8% of those are from the South Asian Community, that’s in the region of 320,000 people with Type 2 or late onset diabetes.
In St Albans, there are potentially 400 people from the Asian Community who are diagnosed with or have TYPE 2. Now for a small community the size of between 5000 and 6000 people that is alarmingly high number.
We have all heard of diabetes, and chances are you know someone who has it, and even more so it will be someone close to you. Type 2 diabetes is a little more complexed than we think. We associate this bad diets, eating snacks and sugary treats. Buts its more than that. “people from South Asian communities are known to be up to 6 times more likely to have type 2 diabetes than the general population.” says the website diabetes UK. Its also a genetic disorder that effects who gets diabetes and can happen to anyone between ages of 20 to 60.
So what can we do about this as a community. local GPs are doing their best to help the community but their information and advice seems to fall on deaf ears.
The biggest issue here is mind set, we need to change our mindsets, and acknowledge the issue and not sweep it under the Persian rug. Type 2 diabetes is not talked about within the community, with friends or family. We need to tackle the issue and by engaging the issue we can support each other to manage the problem, and get back to better health.
It all comes down to diet and a healthy lifestyle. The Bangladeshi diet consists of some great stuff such as fish, meat, rice and vegetables. However, we seem to do that in abundance, which isn’t that great all the time. Yes, we all love a good chicken and aloo curry, but not every day. We need to change the way we view our relationship to food and what we eat in moderation and mix it in with a healthy active lifestyle.
Some people don’t know they have type 2, and carry on regardless. watch out for the warning signs and risk indicators. In the UK, the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) states that adults of South Asian origin are at risk of developing type 2 diabetes if they have:
- A body mass index (BMI) of 23 or more, indicating they are overweight, and/or
- A waist size of 35 inches or more for males, and 31.5 inches or more for females.
So if you fall into these categories please consult a doctor, listen to what they say and act on it.
If you are Type 2 diabetic reach out to others who have been diagnosed, support in numbers gives us strength and motivation to do better. maybe start a small support group, talk through your challenges and manage the diabetes properly.
For more information about diabetes follow these links:
https://www.nhs.uk/conditions/type-2-diabetes/
http://www.desmond-project.org.uk/
https://www.diabetes.org.uk/home
https://www.diabetes.co.uk/south-asian/
If you would like to write about your experiences with Type 2 diabetes please send us a message via the contact page here and will get your views published.