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By: Sereena Gray[/align]



[align=right]Dated: 20/07/2005
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[align=left]Around 1.8 million people are currently living with diabetes in the UK and it is estimated that there are at least a further million who do not know they have it.

While in the white community Type 2 diabetes runs at around 3 per cent, this figure is over five times higher amongst African Caribbeans, where 17 per cent are affected by it.
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[align=left] Type 2 diabetes occurs when either not[/align]

[align=left]enough insulin is produced or when the insulin that is produced cannot [/align]

[align=left]be used properly to manage blood glucose levels.
Diabetes UK[/align]
Medical experts agree that genes have a part to play in the high instance of diabetes within the black community.

The condition runs in families, which means that a person’s chance of developing diabetes is increased if a relative has it.

Obesity and lack of exercise are also other major factors which can lead to diabetes developing.

There is also a vast difference between communities in the age at which the risk of developing diabetes increases.

For the general population this is around 40 years old, but among black people this age is around 25, which means that young people should be thinking about the steps they should take to prevent it.



[align=left]Young people unconcerned by health
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[align=left]However knowledge of this fact among young people is seriously lacking according to
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[align=left]Jenne Dixit, who is the Equality and Diversity Advisor for Diabetes UK.[/align]

[align=left] I think when you’re young health is[/align]

[align=left]probably the last thing on [your] mind, you think that diabetes or some [/align]

[align=left]other health condition only develops at a later age.
Jenne Dixit, Diabetes UK Equality and Diversity Advisor[/align]


[align=left]She told Black Britain, “I think when you’re young health is probably the last thing on [your] mind, you think that diabetes or some other health condition only develops at a later age.�

She said that while most people have heard of the condition and are likely to know someone living with it, there is a very low level of understanding of the complications which can arise from poorly managed diabetes.

“We did research with focus groups and a very, very low percentage of people knew the long term conditions of diabetes, which are [limb] amputation, [going] blind, loss of nerves, heart attack, stroke and kidney disease.

“These are really, really serious and something that we just need to keep highlighting.�

Black Britain decided to ask some members of the public if they knew anything about diabetes, our snapshot confirmed the results of Ms Dixit’s research.

Everyone had heard of diabetes and knew that it has something to do with levels of sugar in the blood.

But nobody was aware of the complications which can arise from it, or the fact that it can develop in black people from the age of 25 onwards.
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[align=left]Attitudes
General unconcern is also another challenge to successfully conveying the seriousness of diabetes.

When asked if he knew any complications associated with diabetes, one man said death. While this can ultimately happen, his attitude towards this was one of passive acceptance.

He said, “We all have to go, when your number pops up you just have to go, that’s how I see it.�

Traditional cultural attitudes towards obesity can also be a barrier stopping people facing up to the need to maintain a healthy body weight to help prevent the onset of diabetes.

For many in the black community being slim is associated with being ill and extra weight is a supposed sign of wellbeing and prosperity.
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[align=left]Ms Dixit said that she often comes across this, “in the African Caribbean community bigger is seen as more beautiful, so the more curvaceous the woman is, [she’s] considered more beautiful.�

Changing these kinds of attitudes is something to which Ms Dixit and Diabetes UK is committed she said that the way forward is providing appropriate information and education.

“We need to eliminate the myths and the misconceptions that exist about diabetes…and [give] them the right information about what diabetes is and how you can manage it successfully.

“And if you don’t manage it about the long term complications that exist.�

Diabetes symptoms

• Increased thirst
• Frequently going to the toilet, especially at night
• Extreme tiredness
• Weight loss
• Genital itching or repeated occurrences of thrush
• Slow haling of wounds
• Blurred vision

If you are concerned you may have diabetes your doctor will be able to confirm this through a blood test.
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