Charity kick starts health campaign for fasting with diabetes

People with type 2 diabetes are to be educated about the risks associated with fasting and diabetes under a new ‘Stay Healthy During Ramadan’ campaign.
Launched by diabetes charity, Silver Star Diabetes, the nationwide program will see a series of regional educational events held at mosques during Ramadan in an effort to help individuals living with type 2 diabetes to manage their condition during the Islamic month of fasting.
The events will be hosted by local doctors, who will provide the essential facts about fasting and diabetes to the UK’s Muslim population. This includes how long gaps between can affect blood sugar levels and raise the risk of hypoglycaemia and other dangerous complications, and the availability of different diabetes management options for type 2 diabetics who plan on fasting.
Muslim communities in the cities of Bradford, Birmingham, Cardiff, Leicester, London, and Manchester will all be visited by the Silver Star ‘Stay Healthy During Ramadan’ roadshow between now and the end of July.
“The ‘Staying Healthy During Ramadan’ campaign aims to highlight the need for Muslim patients who want to fast during Ramadan to discuss their plans with their doctor or nurse before observing the fast,” Labour MP Keith Vaz, Founder Patron of Silver Star Diabetes and Vice Chair All Party Parliamentary Diabetes Group, explained.
“We want to ensure that people with type 2 diabetes who are planning to observe Ramadan in this way are aware of the medical facts associated with fasting and living with keywordtype 2 diabetes.”
Professor Jonathan Valabhji, National Clinical Director for Obesity and Diabetes, who launched the nationwide campaign for Silver Star Diabetes in the House of Commons, commented: “The majority of the 3.2 million people diagnosed live with type 2 diabetes and people of South Asian descent are six times more likely to develop type 2 diabetes compared with the overall UK population.”
“I applaud Silver Star’s efforts to provide practical support and information to those people with both Type 1 and Type 2 diabetes who may be planning to fast this summer.”
The ‘Stay Healthy During Ramadan’ campaign is supported by British-Swedish pharmaceutical company AstraZeneca.