Free Health and Wellbeing Day to help people live well with diabetes

Waltham Forest residents are invited to a health and wellbeing event in the new year aimed at helping people live well with diabetes.

The event has been organised by Diabetes UK in conjunction with Walthamstow Central Primary Care Network and will include presentations in Bengali and Urdu as well as English.

The FREE Health and Wellbeing Day will take place on Saturday, 14 January 2023, at the Waltham Forest Community Hub, 18A Orford Road E17 9LN and will run from 12 noon – 4pm.

Registration is open at https://tinyurl.com/healthandwellbeingday

During the afternoon, Diabetes UK volunteers will deliver Diabetes Awareness presentations, covering the difference between type 1 and type 1 diabetes, signs and symptoms and complications of diabetes – and they will also touch on the support available for people who live with diabetes.

Diabetes is a condition where there is too much glucose in the blood because the body cannot use it properly. If not managed well, type 2 diabetes can lead to devastating complications. Diabetes is one of the leading causes of preventable sight loss in people of working age in the UK and is a major cause of lower limb amputation, kidney failure and stroke. 

People with type 1 diabetes cannot produce insulin. About 8 per cent of people with diabetes have type 1. No one knows exactly what causes it, but it’s not to do with being overweight and it isn’t currently preventable. It’s the most common type of diabetes in children and young adults, starting suddenly and getting worse quickly.

Charlotte Burford, Engaging Communities and Volunteering Manager for South East Coast and London Region at Diabetes UK, said: “Diabetes can be a difficult condition to manage and people can really learn from each other as well as from health professionals. We work to work with other health groups and with residents to help people find a balance between living their lives and keeping in good health.”