HERALD WEEKLY ISSUE 590: 16 November 2011

1 in 10 Cook Islanders Gripped by Diabetes
Monday 14 November marked international Diabetes day and to raise awareness in the Cook Islands the Ministry of Health held a free diabetes health check in the centre of Avarua. People from the community were invited to come and get tested, by measuring their weight, height, and blood sugar levels to help determine individual risks of developing diabetes.
Diabetes currently affects 10% of the Cook Islands population, which translates to 1 in 10 people in the Cook Islands having type 2 diabetes which is a high number says Ministry of Health worker Karen Tairea. Untreated diabetes has many detrimental health factors and can lead to heart attack, blindness, stroke or loss of feet and legs which is why it’s important to get tested and implement small lifestyle changes now stress Tairea. By making these changes earlier on they can have a big impact on preventing diabetes, these include maintaining a low fat, low sugar and high fiber diet and being more active. If you weren’t able to make it to Mondays free check and would like to get checked for diabetes Tairea suggest getting in contact with your general practitioner or the community health clinic.

Warning Signs of Diabetes:

Some questions to ask yourself if your concerned about diabetes
Fatigue and weakness:
Do you feel more tired than normal?
Frequent trips to the bathroom:
Are you visiting the bathroom much more lately? Does it seem like you urinate all day long?
Drinking more liquids than usual:
Does it feel like you can’t get enough water? Are you drinking much more than usual?
Unusual blurred vision?

-Maria Tanner

Herald Issue 554 09 March
- Norm exposes Trio of Doom
- Briefs from PM’s media conference Tuesday
- Tourism Industry ponders $5 million draft strategy
- Norman George resigns from Cook Islands Party
- Letter of Resignation from CIP
- Norman selfish says Prime Minister

Copyright 2006 Cook Islands Herald online . All rights reserved.