29 July 2013
Waveney MP Peter Aldous today encourages residents of the Waveney area to visit the Silver Star Appeal mobile diabetes unit in Lowestoft town centre.

On Monday 29th July, from 10am to 5.30pm, the Silver Star unit will be stationed on London Road North in between Dorothy Perkins and Sports Direct, where people can either take a test for diabetes or have their BMI measured for free. MP for Waveney Peter Aldous will be in attendance.

Silver Star is a charity which campaigns to provide diabetes awareness. As part of the work that it carries out it runs a mobile diabetes unit which is tasked with testing for diabetes and promoting culturally sensitive healthcare across major towns and cities throughout Britain and Peter Aldous praises the work that they carry out as valuable and important in tackling diabetes.

Diabetes is a chronic disease which is caused as a result of too much sugar within the blood of an individual and it is reported to affect 2.3 million people. However, this does not include those who are not diagnosed or are unaware of their condition, which is believed to be at least half a million individuals. Peter believes that it is important to raise awareness about the disease to ensure that individuals are aware of how it can be treated or controlled to minimise the impact of the disease on people’s daily lives.

There are two types of diabetes, Type 1 diabetes and Type 2 diabetes. Type 1 diabetes results from the body’s failure to produce insulin which prevents glucose from being able to enter the cells of the body and provide them with energy. It is commonly found in children and young adults. In this case the body does not produce insulin and therefore they are unable to convert glucose into the energy that the body uses so individuals can go about their daily lives. Type 2 diabetes is more common and results from the cells in the body rejecting insulin or not enough insulin being produced to provide the body with energy. High levels of glucose in the blood can cause pain to the eyes, kidneys, nerves or heart over time.

While both types are serious, if identified early, individuals with the disease are able to live a long, healthy and happy life and therefore Peter would urge anyone who suspects that they have the disease or a family history of diabetes to get tested for free on 29th July at the mobile diabetes unit on London Road North. When you arrive at the venue you will be asked to fill out a simple questionnaire regarding your health before taking a test in the unit which takes between 3 and 5 minutes with the results being given to the individual immediately after the test.

Mr Aldous said:
“Silver Star is a fantastic organisation fulfilling a valuable service for the community and I encourage people to visit the mobile diabetes unit in Lowestoft and help raise awareness about diabetes.”

| Silver Star Appeal mobile diabetes unit

Link:
www.silverstaruk.org