Intu Chapelfield to help raise awareness of Type 2 Diabetes to shoppers

As part of National Diabetes Week (9-15th June), healthcare professionals and diabetes researchers from the Norfolk and Norwich University Hospital’s (NNUH), Norfolk Diabetes Prevention Study (NDPS) will be on hand to answer the public’s questions on and raise awareness of preventing type 2 diabetes at intu Chapelfield from 9am to 6pm on Wednesday 12th June 2013.

The Norfolk Diabetes Prevention Study team will be talking to the public about preventing Type 2 diabetes and inviting people to take part in the Norfolk Diabetes Study which aims to prevent the condition from developing in those who are at risk. The team will be located outside Vodafone for the day on the lower ground floor of the mall.

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. The study is a research project led by the NNUH and the University of East Anglia.

Local people are being recruited to take part and will undergo simple blood tests to see if they are at risk of developing Type 2 diabetes. For those who are identified at risk they will be offered the chance to join 3 year a lifestyle programme focusing on healthy eating, exercise and weight loss to see if this can reduce the risk of developing Type 2 diabetes.

Dr Melanie Pascale (nee Dunk), programme manager said: “It only take’s a few little changes to make a big impact on our health, the sooner we start the better. Awareness raising days like the National Diabetes Week help us to raise the profile of diabetes and what we can do to either try and prevent it or help others to better manage the condition .”

Intu’s Chapelfield’s general manager Davina Tanner said: “intu Chapelfield is really pleased to welcome back the Norfolk Diabetes Prevention team to intu Chapelfield to celebrate National Diabetes Week. I'm sure that intu Chapelfield's shoppers will welcome both the useful advice and chance to get involved in this study. We are very pleased to continue our partnership with the Norfolk and Norwich University Hospital in 2013, bringing health awareness advice to our shoppers on a regular basis. Intu Chapelfield is committed to supporting the local community and having these events in the centre makes them really accessible.”

Notes for editors

How the Norfolk Diabetes Study works:
• People living in Norfolk and Suffolk who are at risk of Type 2 Diabetes can volunteer for the screening programme. At risk means aged between 40 years or over with one or more of the following: a BMI greater than 25, an immediate family member with a history of diabetes, a history of coronary heart disease, diabetes during pregnancy or a known raised glucose level.

• Participants make an appointment to undergo a simple fasting blood test and some base line measurements (height, weight, BMI 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 of people 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, if confirmed, they will then be asked by a Diabetes Prevention Facilitator, dietitian or nutrition scientist, if they want to take part in the group based lifestyle intervention programme focusing on changes to healthy eating and exercise levels to help prevent type 2 diabetes.

• Study participants will then be randomly allocated to one of three groups; 1) an intervention group where the aim will be for people to achieve seven per cent weight loss through increases in healthy eating and physical activity levels, 2) an intervention group as above but with additional telephone support from a peer mentor, who is someone who already has existing type 2 diabetes, 3) or a control group, who will receive a one off education session.

• These study participants will receive support, motivation and education from healthcare professionals to help make changes to their lifestyle, focusing on increasing healthy eating and exercise levels in order to see if preventative changes to their lifestyle can help reduce the risk of them developing Type 2 Diabetes.