Diabetes Association hosts symposium

Published by Patrick Jones at August 13, 2014

Posted: Wednesday, August 13, 2014. 11:26 pm CST.

Vanessa Jenkins-Young

Wednesday, August 13, 2014. AARON GHUMES Reporting: The Belize Diabetes Association, the separate but affiliated Belize Diabetes Association of New York (BDANY) and the Caribbean Diabetes Initiative have teamed up to promote diabetes awareness via a three-day symposium which kicked off today in Belize City.

Approximately one in every seven Belizean adults and a total of 25,000 Belizeans have conditions which can lead to diabetes, and another approximate 6,000 are living with the disease and do not know it.

These numbers represent the tip of the iceberg for the disease known as “The Silent Killer.”

Diabetes symposium

BDANY president Vanessa Jenkins-Young told us that the purpose of the symposium is to offer free screening and advice to diabetes patients and promote lifestyle changes necessary to reduce the spread of the disease.

Diabetes strikes high and low and is a gateway to other non-communicable diseases such as heart disease, kidney disease, high blood pressure and loss of sight and use of hands and feet.

It causes excessive tiredness, thirst, infection and ultimately death if not properly treated.

Diabetes lecture

We asked Jenkins-Young about how this information best reaches a public used to certain means of eating and living and she said that it is as much about personal decisions as it is about following the doctor’s advice.

You must make the decision to live and eat healthier, knowing what the resulted would be otherwise.

23 professionals brought in by the CDI to assist met a healthy-sized crowd at the ITVET compound in Belize City today.

The symposium moves to Dangriga’s Stann Creek Ecumenical College grounds on Thursday and returns to Belize City on Friday for a training session with community workers.

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