World heritage castle highlights diabetes day

10:29am Saturday 15th November 2008

Comments (0)   Have your say »

A NORTH-EAST building was lit up last night to mark World Diabetes Day.

Durham Castle, the historic seat of the Bishop of Durham which dates back to the 11th Century, was lit with blue lights between 7pm and 11pm.

Blue was the official colour of the World Diabetes Day logo and of the Unite for Diabetes campaign.

Ian Rudd, a member of the Durham Diabetes UK group who organised last night’s event, said: “We are supporting World Diabetes Day because we feel that we need to increase awareness of the condition and the problems it brings to sufferers if it is not diagnosed early and treated effectively.

“Every act of celebration, from the largest public act to an individual act, will help bring diabetes to light.”

Since 1840, Durham Castle has been home to Durham University’s University College. With Durham Cathedral, it forms a Unesco World Heritage Site.

World Diabetes Day was also marked in Bishop Auckland, where shoppers who queued for diabetes checks posed a weighty problem for medics.

About 90 per cent of people who were tested for diabetes at the Bishop Auckland Morrisons store were overweight, putting them at risk of health problems such as heart disease and strokes.

Doctors and nurses saw more than 100 people during the three-hour event.

Although the vast majority were given a clean bill of health, consultant Dr Paul Peter was alarmed by the numbers judged to be overweight by the size of their waists. This means that men with a waist circumference of 37in or more, and women with a waist measuring more than 31in, have too much fat around their abdomen, placing them in the high-risk category.

Dr Peter said: “Nearly every single person who walked into our marquee has values above these measurements, meaning they are overweight.

“This is a big worry. We know that the North-East has a high number of people who are overweight and we know that this puts them at risk of other illnesses, including diabetes.

“They need a change of lifestyle, which means eating healthily and taking more exercise.

“There are 25,000 people with diabetes in County Durham and Darlington, which is one in 25 of the population.”

Pensioners Tesse and Paul Crosby, from Spennymoor, County Durham, were happy to be given the all clear.

Mr Crosby, 70, said: “I found I had high blood pressure at a similar sort of event a few years ago, and was able to be treated. I feel much better now.”

The diabetes team from County Durham and Darlington NHS Foundation Trust organised the event to help people recognise the symptoms of diabetes.

A similar event was held at Morrisons, in North road, Darlington, yesterday afternoon.