Anna Richardson, a host of Naked Attraction, has made a sincere appeal for better understanding and education of diabetes and urging others to be more aware of its effects.
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Anna Richardson, a television presenter, has admitted to being ignorant about her father’s diabetes battle. The 54-year-old host of Naked Attraction, a much-loved show, has highlighted how persistent myths about diabetes may be having an impact on both their physical and mental health.
According to the NHS, diabetes is a chronic metabolic disorder characterized by persistently high blood sugar levels (glucose) due to either the body’s inability to produce enough insulin or its inability to effectively use the insulin it does produce
Anna, who revealed that both of her parents now have diabetes after her mother was recently diagnosed, has also revealed that she is guilty of making comments about it to her loved ones. She has recently conducted a lot more research into the metabolic disorder and is determined to dispel the myths that accompany it.
Speaking exclusively to The Mirror, Anna shared: “Type 2 diabetes runs in my family – my dad’s had it for years, and mum’s also recently been diagnosed in her later years. In all honesty, I’ve been guilty of passing comments to my dad about what he puts in his mouth, we all have been. But I never stopped and thought about how crushing that might’ve made him feel, which in turn may impact his relationship with his condition.
I also learned that I have diabetes while I’m in the menopause, so I’m just beginning a journey with it myself. Abbott’s efforts to change the perception of diabetes, especially Type 2, have given me a fresh perspective on the condition and sparked me to exercise better health, which has seemed to work. My sugars are much higher than they were before, and I’ve already lost a stone.
Anna admits that there is a general ” stereotype” of what a person who suffers from diabetes looks like when in reality, so many different kinds of people are affected by the condition, and that this is often misperceived by those who don’t.
The TV personality said, “I think many people have a picture of how diabetes looks, and I really want to break the myth that this is due to laziness because it is a very complex condition. Few people are aware of its causes or potential health risks. This is why comments like “stop eating sweets,” “just lose some weight,” or “you did it to yourself” are so common and incorrect.
Type 1 can occur to anyone, and Type 2 can result from lifestyle, but there are many other factors that can also affect it, including genetics, ethnicity, age, and even gender. We don’t really need to be better at recognizing and paying attention to this unconscious bias when talking to or about people, but I can’t think of many other chronic conditions where we incorrectly associate behavior with the outcome.
It’s obvious that making people believe they have this condition because of something they did or because of it will have an impact on how they relate to it. Some people may believe in false information, while others may believe it and look the other way.
“I’ve met young women with Type 2 diabetes who are having a hard time getting pregnant because of their condition, and they feel incredibly embarrassed,” she said.
The truth is that diabetes is not related to how many cakes you eat, but rather to how poorly someone’s pancreas functions. Let’s keep in mind as a society that people with diabetes can feel supported and empowered to seek out the assistance they require to improve their health.
You’re not alone, and people shouldn’t make you feel like there is any sense of shame or blame, Anna said, giving a useful tip to those who might feel misunderstood or excluded from society as a result of their condition. Find people like you who are also managing this challenging condition, gain from those positive role models, and have faith in the existence of many resources you can use to correct and refute those errors.
It’s still a rather secret condition, according to Halle Berry and Tom Hanks, despite the more public interest in its prevalence. I don’t know of any British celebrities who are positive about their Type 2 diabetes management. The problem might also be caused by the lack of visibility itself.
Anna is campaigning with Abbott’s new Above the Bias initiative which aims to help others see the world from the perspective of someone living with diabetes. The initiative builds upon efforts by several diabetes organisations, patient advocacy groups, and experts that continue to work to reduce stigma about diabetes.
AboveBias.com has more information about the movie and Above the Bias.
Source: Mirror
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