Women need their own plan to beat diabetes to reduce their own risk of heart attacks, strokes and dementia
- The NHS offers a program for people at risk of developing type 2 diabetes
- The nine-month program is less effective in women in their 40s and 50s
The NHS Diabetes Prevention Program was launched seven years ago to cater for anyone over 40 on the verge of developing type 2 diabetes.
These are people with elevated blood sugar – a condition sometimes called prediabetes.
Type 2 diabetes increases the risk of heart attacks, strokes and dementia. But research shows that losing weight, through diet and exercise, can prevent progression to type 2 diabetes and even reverse prediabetes.
The nine-month NHS program provides nutritional and lifestyle advice in group sessions and with health coaches. It can be transformative.
Type 2 diabetes increases the risk of heart attacks, strokes and dementia. But research shows that losing weight, through diet and exercise, can prevent progression to type 2 diabetes and even reverse prediabetes.
There’s just one problem: When given to middle-aged women, the advice doesn’t always work. Participants in their 40s and 50s, especially women, lose less weight, are less successful in lowering their blood sugar, and are less likely to complete the program
There’s just one problem: When given to middle-aged women, the advice doesn’t always work. Participants in their 40s and 50s, especially women, lose less weight, are less successful at lowering their blood sugar levels, and are less likely to complete the program.
It’s not that they don’t need help. As we approach menopause, the hormone changes can affect the way we store fat and cause it to accumulate around organs such as the liver and pancreas. This fat may increase our risk of type 2 diabetes as the body becomes more resistant to insulin, the hormone that works to store excess sugar.
To me, it’s not surprising that women going through menopause struggle to participate in the NHS diet plans. If you’re exhausted from being unable to sleep, achy, sweating all night, and hot flashes during the day, you’re more likely to reach for comforting carbohydrates than healthier options. We need to find out what works and what level of support would be most helpful.
Ex-Olympic triple jumper Michelle Griffith-Robinson, diagnosed with prediabetes in 2018, agrees. Last week, the 51-year-old, a Diabetes UK ambassador and patron of Menopause Mandate, was told she is now safe.
“It can’t be a one-size-fits-all approach,” she says. “I’ve always exercised and I eat healthy, but I had low energy, low libido, brain fog, bad mood, skin changes, that kind of faintness. Starting HST turned out to be the turning point.’
My advice is to make small changes that you can stick with and that won’t leave you feeling exhausted. Climb an extra flight of stairs. Go for a walk. Pile your plate full of healthy food.
As Michelle points out, “The goals are not to have diabetes and want to thrive at this stage of your life. Why not both?’