Preventing diabetes
Somerset GP Practices, hospitals and community health services have teamed up with Diabetes UK to help encourage the public to find out if they could at risk of developing Type 2 diabetes.
Staying Well
Type 2 diabetes in Somerset
In Somerset there are already over 30,000 people living with diabetes and of those, 90% will be living with Type 2 diabetes. Those at risk may have no obvious signs that they have the condition but public health experts already estimated there could be as many as 10,000 people in Somerset who are undiagnosed and even more at risk of developing the disease in the future. Each year, between 2,000 and 2,500 people are newly diagnosed with diabetes.
The cost of supporting people with diabetes and managing the health complications they experience accounts for 10% of NHS Somerset’s annual budget.
If people take no action to reduce their risk of developing Type 2 Diabetes it is estimated that 53,000 people in Somerset could have the disease by 2030.
Are you at risk?
Somerset GP Practices, hospitals and community health services have teamed up with Diabetes UK to help encourage the public to find out if they could at risk of developing Type 2 diabetes.
Take the Type 2 diabetes risk survey
By completing Diabetes UK’s five-minute online Diabetes Risk Survey (https://riskscore.diabetes.org.uk/start) they could be taking the first steps to prevent what is rapidly becoming a major cause of preventable sight loss, kidney failure, heart attack and stroke.
Those most at risk may already have a family history of the disease; they may be overweight, or have a poor diet (high in sugar, fat and salt) and take little or no physical exercise.
What next?
If you complete the survey and believe you are at risk, then talk to your GP Practice Nurse or Health Coach about what advice and support is available to you in your area.
Somerset is signed up to the national “Healthier You” Diabetes Prevention Programme which offers patients at risk the opportunity to enrol in a 12 month face to face behaviour change programme offering tailored and personalised help including:
- Education on lifestyle choices
- Advice on how to reduce weight through healthier eating
- Bespoke physical activity programmes.
Your GP practice nurse will be able to check your eligibility and refer you to the programme.
If you want to know more about Type 2 diabetes and how to reduce your risk of the condition you can also visit the Diabetes UK website at: www.diabetes.org.uk.
