With around 7,500 people living with diabetes in Southport and Formby, Lancashire Care NHS Foundation Trust’s diabetes team is calling on people to educate themselves on how to best manage their condition.

People with diabetes in the area are eligible to attend free education programmes designed to help them do this. Lancashire Care provides two programmes, “Diabetes and You” for people who have been newly diagnosed with Type 2 diabetes and “Diabetes and More” for people who have been living with the condition for more than a year.

Lucy Haworth, Dietetic & Diabetes Education Team Lead at Lancashire Care NHS Foundation Trust, said:

“There is a staggering number of people living with diabetes and the numbers are estimated to increase. In the UK alone there are some 3.5 million people diagnosed with the condition and a further 1.1 million who have the condition but do not know it. Ensuring that members of the public living with diabetes know how to successfully manage their condition is our priority and attending our sessions empowers people to be in control of their diabetes.

“These sessions not only teach you how to manage diabetes but they’re also great ways of meeting people and getting moral support as you quickly learn you’re not alone. It’s important that anyone living with the condition knows there is free and helpful education out there.”

The sessions are informal, friendly and last approximately two hours with short breaks. They are held in a variety of locations across Southport and Formby with timings throughout the day, evenings and weekends. To find out more, speak to your GP, practice nurse or health care professional and request a referral. Alternatively, contact the Diabetes Education Team on 01704 387271 or email lcn-tr.diabeteseducation@nhs.net. For general advice on any form of diabetes, call the Diabetes UK Helpline on 0345 123 2399 or visit www.diabetes.org.uk.

Here's the best piece of education to beat the condition... " The hole at the top of your body is bigger than the one at the bottom".

Or as Billy Connolly once said when a Fat bird said: " I've got a slow metabolism", Billy's response, " Yep and a fast ****** appetite".

Sadly - its not as simple as that and it also depends what you put in the top hole! There are a number of reasons why people have Type 2 Diabetes, not purely through a poor diet and obesity, as you allude to. These sessions are excellent for fact finding, information giving and support. I would recommend anyone who has concerns about managing their condition to attend. I believe there is an epidemic out there as many people will not know they have the condition, or be in the pre-diabetic range. It takes discipline to manage the condition effectively....and don't forget that excercise plays a huge part in managing the condition too.

Originally Posted by grim_reaper

Sadly - its not as simple as that and it also depends what you put in the top hole! There are a number of reasons why people have Type 2 Diabetes, not purely through a poor diet and obesity, as you allude to. These sessions are excellent for fact finding, information giving and support. I would recommend anyone who has concerns about managing their condition to attend. I believe there is an epidemic out there as many people will not know they have the condition, or be in the pre-diabetic range. It takes discipline to manage the condition effectively....and don't forget that excercise plays a huge part in managing the condition too.

Well that's not what Doctors, consultants have told me, but you are entitled entirely to your opinion.