The City of Cape Town's Health Department has recorded more than 30 000 clients who were screened for diabetes from January to June this year and staff expect to double the total number of screenings for last year, which came to 21 000 (January to December).

'City Health has embarked on a drive to encourage those in high-risk groups to come to our clinics for screening. Clients who fall into these high-risk groups include people with a family history of diabetes, those who are overweight, lead a sedentary lifestyle and have unhealthy habits such as smoking. Age also plays a factor with your risk increasing as you approach middle age,' said the City’s Mayoral Committee Member for Safety and Security; and Social Services, Alderman JP Smith.
'Most of the cases are Type 2 diabetes, which is largely preventable through adopting a healthy lifestyle. This includes regular physical activity, a healthy and balanced diet, and maintaining a healthy weight. Family life and one’s living environment has a key role to play in addressing the risk factors associated with diabetes. Families can learn how to live a healthy lifestyle through our clinics’ education, awareness and treatment programmes for lifestyle diseases,' said Alderman Smith.
City clinics have reported a significant increase in lifestyle related disease over the past decade, especially in poorer communities.

Treatment involves not only medication, but lifestyle changes and, to help residents, the City has launched the second leg of its Live Well Challenge at the St Vincent Community Day Centre in Area Central today.

The campaign is an initiative that aims to get residents to participate in an eight-week programme that will teach them about healthy eating and exercise.

Globally, chronic lifestyle diseases such as diabetes, hypertension, heart disease, stroke and cancer cause an estimated 41 million deaths every year. In the Western Cape, diabetes is the number one cause of premature death in women.

The Live Well Challenge aims to change attitudes and get people on the right track.

The initiative is a collaborative effort between the four departments within the City’s Social Services Directorate.

In addition to the work done at clinics, recreation centres run a host of programmes to promote exercise; libraries stock reading materials on these issues; and the Social Development and Early Childhood Development Department champions worthy causes like this one by channelling community members to the opportunities that are available.

The Live Well Challenge consists of eight sessions, and will be held on a weekly basis at a community hall in the areas where the initiative will be rolled out.

Each session is structured as follows:

• 30-minute health education session followed by a brief group discussion
• Biometric assessment (weight, blood, glucose level, etc.) to let participants monitor their progress
• 30-minute physical exercise session

The programme is run consecutively, allowing participants to join at any time and still complete all eight health education sessions. On completion of the health education sessions, participants are encouraged to continue with the weekly exercise class. 

Some of the key aspects of the programme are outlined here: /media/e1alejoz/the-live-well-challenge.pdf

During the next few months, several more sites will be launched and residents are encouraged to watch their local community newspapers or find out from their local clinic whether their area is included in the pilot project.

‘The International Diabetes Foundation estimates that 80% of cases of Type 2 diabetes is preventable through the adoption of a healthy lifestyle. This programme is just the first step residents can take towards healthier and more productive lives,’ said Alderman Smith.

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