What’s your type?

This week is Men’s Health Week, an annual programme that focuses on key areas of health, which affect men in particular.

An important pillar of Men’s Health Week is to raise awareness of preventable health issues and encourage male colleagues to have the courage to seek professional advice for health-related problems.

Today, we focus on diabetes - a common lifelong condition that causes a person's blood sugar level to become too high. Normally insulin, a hormone produced by the pancreas, allows glucose to move from the bloodstream into cells to be burnt as fuel. When someone has diabetes, however, insulin production is reduced.

There are two main types of diabetes:

• Type 1 diabetes – where the body's immune system attacks and destroys the cells that produce insulin
• Type 2 diabetes – where the body doesn't produce enough insulin, or the body's cells don't react to insulin.

Type 2 diabetes is far more common than Type 1. In the UK, around 90% of all adults with diabetes have Type 2.

According to the Men’s Health Forum research has shown that compared to women:

• Men are more likely to suffer from diabetes, with one in 10 suffering from the condition
• Men are more likely to experience complications
• Men are more likely to face limb amputation
• Men are more likely to die from diabetes
• Some men are more at risk than others – half of all south Asian, black African and African Caribbean people in the UK will have Type 2 diabetes by the time they reach 80 years of age
• Men are more likely to develop Type 2 diabetes if they are overweight or obese.

Common symptoms of diabetes include:

• Urinating more frequently than usual, especially at night
• Feeling thirsty
• Feeling more tired than usual
• Weight loss and loss of muscle bulk
• Genital itching or thrush
• Cuts and wounds take longer to heal
• Blurred vision.

If you are worried that you, your child or someone you know, may have diabetes you should contact your GP to make sure and to get the help you may need to stabilise the condition.

Guidance from Diabetes UK to reduce the risk of diabetes includes:

• Eat more healthily
• Be more active
• Lose weight if you are overweight
• Set goals which are realistic and work for you
• Change one thing at a time and make the changes part of your everyday life.

Visit www.diabetes.org.uk or www.nhs.uk/conditions/diabetes for further information. Remember, the First Class Support helpline is completely confidential, independent and available 24/7. Call now on 0800 688 8777 if you would like to talk to somebody about living a healthier lifestyle or any other physical or mental health related matter.

The Feeling First Class portal has helpful support content for your mental and physical health. Visit www.feelingfirstclass.co.uk (code FFC1 to register) or download the app from iTunes or the Google Play store.

For more information on Mens Health Week please click here.