Type 2 diabetes education programme launched with city hospital

ONE of the world’s first education programmes for children with type 2 diabetes has been launched in the region.

In a drive to help young people to tackle their type 2 diabetes and make positive changes to their lifestyle, the Leicester Diabetes Centre, in partnership with Leicester’s Hospitals, has launched ‘iCAN Live Well With Diabetes’.

iCAN Live Well With Diabetes is a structured programme developed especially for children, young people and their families with type 2 diabetes.

As part of the programme, children and teenagers are invited to attend four two-hour workshops designed to empower them to take control of their diabetes and make positive changes to their lifestyle.

Professor Melanie Davies CBE, Professor of Diabetes Medicine at the University of Leicester and Co-Director of the Leicester Diabetes Centre, said: “It is hoped this ground-breaking service will go a long way to making a positive impact to the lives of children and young people with type 2 diabetes.

“To date, most of the research and lifestyle advice about type 2 diabetes has been directed at older adults with the condition. There is very little research data to support or understand the best treatment options in children and young people.

“However, we do know that it is very important that type 2 diabetes is controlled in the young, because failure to do so can lead to diabetes complications developing much earlier and more aggressively when compared to their peers with type 1 diabetes or adults diagnosed with type 2 diabetes.”

Dr Premkumar Sundaram, Consultant Paediatrician and Paediatric Diabetologist from Leicester’s Hospitals, added: “Even though type 1 diabetes is the most common type of diabetes in children and young people, we have seen an increased prevalence of type 2 diabetes in our multidiscipli- nary paediatric diabetes clinic in the last 10 years, and most of them are from ethnic minorities.

“We hope this programme will empower our children and young people and their families to make vital changes to their lifestyle and improve their health.”

The iCAN Live Well With Diabetes programme is made up of four workshops which focus on the following areas: iCAN make sense of my diabetes iCAN make healthy snack choices iCAN build healthier meals iCAN be more active iCAN manage my thoughts and feelings

Feedback from the first workshop has already been extremely positive, with one participant stating: “I learnt a lot about healthy living and how to deal with my diabetes,” with one parent adding: “I think it is a really good idea for youngsters to go to these sessions. Very positive.”

With more than a third of children in England overweight or obese by the time they leave primary school, thousands more could be diagnosed with type 2 diabetes in the next few years.

To book a place on the iCAN Live Well With Diabetes programme call 0116 2588989.