Words & Photo: S&A Marketing
There’ll be a drastic increase in the number of South Africans diagnosed with diabetes over the next five years. Our people live unhealthy lifestyles, eat poor diets and are physically inactive. One in three men and one in two women in South Africa are physically unfit and one in five South Africans have hypertension.
This bleak picture, painted by Human Sciences Research Council (HSRC) during the first ever South African National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey, is all the more reason for families to break out of their comfort zones and take steps to improve their health – starting with the Diabetes SA 5km Global Walk which is supported by ProNutro in the interests of better health.
The Durban leg of this national event kicks off on Sunday, November 17th at 8am from the Lower Marine Parade Amphitheatre.
Jenny Russell, the Branch Manager at Diabetes SA in Durban says the first alarm signal is that the HSRC identified an increase in diabetes over the past couple of years. “Not many people are aware that diabetes is a serious medical condition where there is too much glucose in the bloodstream. That’s why diabetes has been dubbed the ‘silent killer’ for years. To a large extent, though, this is preventable,” she warned. This is closely linked to another of the HSRC’s findings - almost one out of five participants consumed a diet with a high fat score (18.3%) and high sugar score (19.7%) and one out of four (25.6%) consumed a diet with a low fruit and vegetable score.
Already, the survey which was conducted on over 27 000 individuals in 8 000 households across the country, found that one out of five participants (18.4%) had impaired glucose tolerance. Of more concern still, the report highlighted the poor state of children's health with 18% of children under 5 years-old already being overweight.
Jenny Russell said that a lifestyle change can be fun for both adults and children as participants in the Diabetes SA 5km Global Walk over the past two years can prove. This year, organisers and supporters of Diabetes SA are going all out to encourage over 3000 walkers to take part.
Russell together with the organisers and supporters of Diabetes SA are going the extra mile to get teams from the city’s top companies, schools etc to “show a leg” for diabetes and challenge their competitors and neighbours to take part in the interests of good health and adopt the mind-set that making better health choices can be a fun and positive team-building experience.
In addition to the walk, there will be a festive Wellness Expo which allows members of the public to receive free glucose and blood pressure tests amongst other exciting features. The first 1500 walkers over the finish line will receive a goodie-bag.
Remember that the R50 entry fee for each person will be going to this deserving cause! To register early one can go to uShaka Marine World on November 9th & 10th from 10am-2pm in arena 3. Diabetes SA personnel will be on duty to help with the registration process, a limited number of goodie bags and spot prizes are up for grabs on event day including family getaways to the Berg, the Bush, the Beach or the Battlefields, courtesy of the Gooderson Leisure Hospitality Group.
For more information call Pat from Nerve Events on 082 4995 222 or visit blogspot www.globaldiabetesrunwalkdurban.blogspot.com
