HEALTH MATTERS
THE number of people living with type 2 diabetes in the UK has more than doubled since 1996 yet is almost always preventable as its lifestyle related with an astonishing 4.1 million people living with type “diabetes.
To reduce your risk of developing type 2 diabetes, you should:
Eat well – a healthy balanced diet is a great way to accomplish this.
Aim to eat five portions of fruit or vegetables daily.
Another great tool to use is the acronym ‘WHY’, make yourself ‘wait’, ask if you’re ‘hungry’ and if it’s ‘yes’, eat away!
Move more – this can make a huge difference.
You will notice a decrease in your waist size, a drop in blood pressure and it’ll help manage your stress and help you sleep.
The recommendation is to carry out 30 minutes of moderate exercise five days a week or 15 minutes of vigorous exercise five days week. Not only will you reduce your chance of having diabetes you also decrease your chance of getting many other conditions.
Maintain a healthy weight – although not everyone who’s overweight has type 2 diabetes it is a risk factor.
You can find out your ideal weight by visiting www.nhs.uk and searching for ‘BMI calculator.’ There are some great support networks.
These include joining a weight loss group, visiting a registered dietician, requesting a referral to the National Diabetes Prevention Programme or using other local services to help you lose weight.
You will need to see your GP to find out if you’re eligible for the prevention programme, but you can find out more about the service by visiting www.preventingdiabetes.co.uk/
The other form of diabetes is type 1, which isn’t preventable, but can be effectively managed.
For more information, visit www.diabetes.org.uk
LAST Monday, Rod King MBE, founder and campaign director of ‘20’s Plenty’, addressed a meeting of the Macctastic Eco Network about what can be done to make car travel safer and more eco friendly in Cheshire East.
In an inspiring presentation, Rod told the meeting 20’s already plenty is a campaign for 20mph to become the default speed limit on residential and urban streets.
This can be done on most streets without the need for any physical calming and we accept that on some streets it may be appropriate to have a higher limit based on the road, vulnerable road users provision, etc.
But any limit above 20mph should be a considered decision based on local circumstances.
Already, over 20 million people live in local authorities which are adopting or have adopted this policy, including our neighbours in Cheshire West and Warrington.
Next month, at a conference called on behalf of the United Nations, government ministers from around the world will meet to adopt the Stockholm Declaration, which includes a commitment to 30kmph (20mph) speed limits where vulnerable road users and vehicles mix.
Greens in Macclesfield have been campaigning on this issue for many years now, and we welcome Macctastic’s interest in taking up the cause of safer speeds.
As well as improving road safety (a pedestrian hit by a car at 20mph has an 83 per cent chance of avoiding severe or fatal injuries, up from 53 per cent at 30mph), reducing traffic speeds leads to less slowing down and speeding up, reducing fuel use and emissions.
The Green Party’s doorstep surveying in central Macclesfield has shown that 73 per cent of residents support a 20mph speed limit on residential streets, while a huge poster by the roadside in the middle of Rainow reads, ‘20 is plenty, 30 will hurt me, 40 is naughty’.