The Lions Club was founded with the goal of enabling people to band together to give time and skills to improve their communities.
Lions serve a number of good causes, including diabetes awareness.
Lions Clubs Ireland have accepted Type 2 Diabetes Awareness as a signature project.
It is estimated that 340,000 people on the island of Ireland have diabetes and between 80 and 90% have type 2 diabetes.
The main focus of the Lions project is on raising awareness of type 2 diabetes, as lifestyle changes can delay or prevent it.
The signs and symptoms of diabetes include excessive thirst or dry mouth, frequent urination, fatigue, slow wound healing, blurred vision, and unexplained weight loss or gain. Often there are no symptoms.
Badly treated diabetes can lead to serious complications such as diseases of the eyes, kidneys, heart, and feet.
Type 2 diabetes risk factors include a family history of diabetes; People who are over 40 years old; Anyone over the age of 25 and of African or South Asian descent; those who are overweight and have little exercise; a history of gestational diabetes; and high blood pressure / cholesterol.
If you have one or more risk factors, it is recommended that you get examined by your family doctor.
You can prevent, delay, and treat your type 2 diabetes by eating healthy, maintaining a healthy weight and waistline, exercising regularly, quitting smoking, getting your eyes checked annually, and regularly checking your health with your family doctor check.
Please visit https://www.diabetes.ie/are-you-at-risk-free-diabetes-test, where you will find a questionnaire to fill out.
This will help you identify your risk factors.
This is a simple questionnaire that only takes a few minutes and is a valuable tool for accessing a person’s current susceptibility to type 2 diabetes.
The Clonmel Lions Club previously raised awareness of diabetes at the annual Clonmel Show, but couldn’t do so this year or last year due to the pandemic.
