Diabetes Roadshow to Measure Up Tewkesbury
The Diabetes UK Measure Up Roadshow will visit Tewkesbury on Thursday 12 and Friday 13 November from 9am to 5pm at Springs Garden Car Park to help people in the area find out more about diabetes and discover whether they are at risk of developing Type 2 diabetes.
The Diabetes UK Measure Up campaign, supported by Tewkesbury’s Count Me In! programme, 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 the condition.
The campaign raises awareness of other risk factors for Type 2 diabetes including being over 40 years old, being of Black or South Asian origin and having a family history of the condition. Diabetes UK staff will be offering free diabetes risk assessment tests at the Tewkesbury Roadshow.
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.
There are around 9,000 people diagnosed with diabetes in South Gloucestershire and an estimated 1,800 who have Type 2 diabetes but do not know it. If untreated, the condition can lead to devastating complications such as heart disease, stroke and kidney disease. Type 2 diabetes can be undetected for 10 years or more, meaning 50 per cent of people already have complications by the time they are diagnosed.
TV presenter Phillip Schofield of This Morning fame is backing the charity’s campaign. 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 firsthand 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.”
Jan Tyrrell, Regional Manager for Diabetes UK South West, said: “Diabetes is one of the biggest health challenges facing us today. It’s frightening that there are almost 2,000 people in South Gloucestershire alone that have Type 2 diabetes but have no idea they do. I would urge everyone who can to visit the Weymouth Measure Up Roadshow. It could be the best thing you ever do for your health.”