Pauline Latham OBE MP has taken almost 8,000 steps in a day as part of the Silver Star Diaebetes UK charity Pedometer Challenge to poromote Diabetes awareness in the run up to World Diabates Day on November 14th. It comes after she joined colleagues at the Annual Diabetes Charity event, the Silver Star Diabetes Health Challenge, at the House of Commons on Wednesday 4th November.
She took the quick and easy diabetes test to help raise awareness of the need for public to take the test of the condition. Special guest Chizzy Akudolu who plays Dr. Mo Ellanga in BBC’s Holby City, joined in the efforts to highlight the problem of diabetes, and handed Pauline Latham MP with a pedometer.
As part of the challenge, MPs were issued with a Silver Star Diabetes Pedometer that will measure the amount of steps taken on a chosen day until World Diabetes Day on 14th November 2015 to see who can take the most steps. Mid-Derbyshire’s MP racked up an impressive 7,837 steps in one day. Matthew Hancock MP, Minister for the Cabinet Office and Paymaster General is the current holder of the Health Challenge.
Every four minutes someone in the UK is diagnosed with diabetes and consequently, the NHS spends £1 million an hour on diabetes and its related complications. Currently 3.2 million people in the UK people live with the condition, and an estimated 1 million people may have diabetes without knowing it.
Silver Star Diabetes is a national charity which seeks to raise awareness of diabetes through advocacy and delivering free diabetes testing and lifestyle advice to the general public. The Charity runs Mobile Diabetes Units (MDU's). The MDUs travel out into the community, to places of work, worship, community events, High Street and retail parks testing the public for free for diabetes and offering lifestyle advice. During these visits its staff has discovered thousands of people who have a propensity for diabetes who did not know about it. The event was supported by Astra Zeneca and Abbott Diabetes Care
Pauline Latham MP said:
“People in Mid Derbyshire are suffering from diabetes, so it is great that Silver Star Diabetes take action to raise awareness for the condition. Helping people to lead healthy lifestyles is important, and testing people for diabetes plays a vital step towards achieving that. I am not sure if I have taken enough steps to take the Health Challenge Winners title away from Matthew but hope it helps raise even more awareness to the disease. "
Professor Jonathan Valabhji, National Clinical Director for Obesity and Diabetes at NHS England said: “Diabetes is one of the biggest health challenges we face today in the UK. There are 3.2 million people living with diabetes, the majority of whom have Type 2 diabetes, the onset of which can be prevented or delayed by a healthy lifestyle. Exercise is an important component of a healthy lifestyle, and I applaud Silver Star’s efforts to provide practical support and information to so many MPs who have decided to take the test and take the pedometer challenge to raise awareness of this health condition.