Middle-aged men in England are being encouraged to take Diabetes UK’s ‘Know Your Risk’ quiz to test their vulnerability to Type 2 diabetes, as part of an NHS campaign partly intended to prevent more Covid-19 deaths, The Guardian reports.
The online quiz asks seven questions about weight, height and waist size to establish body mass index (BMI) and any family history of diabetes. Results are given four bands from low to high risk – people scoring moderate or high will be asked to refer themselves to local health services to change their lifestyle and lose weight. The NHS says it fast-tracked the campaign after research found that people are twice as likely to die of Covid-19 if they have Type 2 diabetes.
Quiz participants will also be encouraged to sign up for support from the NHS Healthier You diabetes prevention programme.
Prof Jonathan Valabhji, NHS England’s national clinical director for diabetes and obesity, said: “The evidence is clear. Obesity and Type 2 diabetes significantly increase the risk that many of us face from Covid-19. And we already knew that for men over 40 in particular, the risk of Type 2 diabetes steadily increases with age, so it is crucial people in this group check their risk and get the right support. As we start to see signs of normal life returning, there has never been a better time to start living a healthier lifestyle, and we want to support even more people to do this.”
To take the quiz CLICK HERE.
