Chapelfield and hospital link up to promote good health

A new partnership has been forged between Chapelfield and the Norfolk and Norwich University Hospital to bring health information and advice to local people.

Over the next year, a series of health promotion events are planned which will see health professionals dispensing information and advice to shoppers.

The first event is about diabetes when advisers from the Norfolk Diabetes Prevention Study will be in Chapelfield on 17th November.

Chief Executive of NNUH Anna Dugdale says: “Many of the people visiting Chapelfield Shopping Centre will be our patients or will have friends and family who are patients and we are delighted to be working in partnership with Chapelfield to support our patients and their families.”

General Manager of Chapelfield Davina Tanner says: “We have planned an interesting and informative series of events and information days which we think will be of interest to Chapelfield's customers.”

The diabetes advisers will be talking to the public about Type 2 diabetes and inviting people to take part in the Norfolk Diabetes Study which aims to prevent the condition from developing.

The study is a research project led by the Norfolk and Norwich University Hospital and the University of East Anglia. Local people are being recruited to take part and will undergo tests to see if they are at risk of developing Type 2 diabetes. A programme of diet and exercise has been devised for participants to see if this can reduce the risk of developing Type 2 diabetes.

Diabetes is one of the biggest public health challenges facing the country and in Norfolk there are about 30,000 people with diabetes and about 2500 are newly diagnosed each year.

Type 2 diabetes is most commonly diagnosed in adults over the age of 40, although, increasingly it is appearing in young people and young adults.

During 2012, there will be health events at Chapelfield covering heart disease, skin conditions, cancer awareness, stroke and Parkinson’s disease.


Notes to editors

How the Norfolk Diabetes Study works:

• People living in north, central and south Norfolk and who are at risk of Type 2 Diabetes can volunteer for the screening programme. At risk means aged between 45-70 with one or more of the the following: a BMI greater than 25, an immediate family member with a history of diabetes, a history of coronary disease or had diabetes during pregnancy.

• Volunteers make an appointment to undergo a simple fasting blood test and some base line measurements (height, weight etc) at the Clinical Research and Trials Unit at UEA in Norwich.

• All participants will receive their results by letter and most are expected to have normal blood glucose. Researchers expect that 11 per cent will be in the “pre-diabetes” phase and three per cent will be newly diagnosed with Type 2 Diabetes.

• If found to be in the pre-diabetes phase or newly diagnosed with Type 2 Diabetes, a repeat test will be done to confirm the first set of results they will be asked by a Diabetes Prevention Facilitator, a senior nurse, dietitian or nutrition scientist, if they want to take part in the lifestyle intervention.

• Volunteers will then be randomly allocated to a control group, who will receive a one off education session, or an intervention group where the aim will be for people to achieve seven per cent weight loss through a better diet and increasing physical activity levels. These volunteers will receive education from healthcare professionals to help improve diet and exercise levels in order to see if preventative changes to their lifestyle can help reduce the risk of them developing Type 2 Diabetes.