Have Your Cake, But Dont Eat It

Marie from Waikanae

I had to chuckle reading the events postings in Kapiti News this week. Lions are selling their Christmas cakes and also doing diabetes testing at the strawberry festival this Saturday. So, buy a cake but please don't eat it.!!
Less amusing was the fearmongering about diabetes from Westbury Pharmacy. According to their quick quiz, one is three times more at risk of diabetes aged over 65. Where is the evidence for this? Maybe the risk is higher, but three times higher? I'm skeptical.



According to Westbury's quiz, with a high score on weight to height (most of us), and age over 65 one is at high risk of diabetes. Other lifestyle indicators such as exercise and diet don't seem to factor highly. However weight to height calculations (or Body Mass Index) can be misleading. According to BMI the All Blacks are morbidly obese. This is because the calculation lumps fat and muscle together in the same category. It is possible to be moderately overweight, have good muscle weight and be fighting fit. So unless you are morbidly obese, treat BMI with a grain of salt.
The Westbury ad also offers free blood pressure tests and links this to diabetes. This is news to me. Do they have any risk ratio for this? The main risk of high blood pressure is the stress it places on the heart and vascular system. The heart has to work harder. Hence cardiac conditions and stroke can occur. I would conclude that risk of diabetes from high blood pressure is low.

The combination of unreliable BMI and overinflated age risks makes this quiz a bit dodgy in my view. These type of ads also cause anxiety and unnecessary worry for older people. If you are worried about diabetes, don't rely on Westbury's quiz. Go and see your GP.
Dr Marie O'Sullivan
Health Advocate, and former lecturer, Public Health