SENIOR doctors have raised concerns over young British Asians showing increased risk of diabetes and heart disease, and urged more education from government on prevention.
Research has shown that people of south Asian origin have an increased risk of developing diabetes and may be more likely to have high blood pressure, which can lead to coronary heart disease.
However, GPs Dr Kailash Chand and Dr Chandra Kanneganti told Eastern Eye that they had seen an increase in young patients being diagnosed with diabetes and heart disease at an earlier age.
Claiming that health inequalities in ethnic groups in the UK were widening, Dr Chand said he had seen a “worrying” trend where second- and third-generation Asians seemed to be displaying many of the same risk characteristics that make them prone to coronary heart disease and diabetes as those of their parents’s generation.
Londoner Hina Shah suffered a heart attack in 2007 when she was 34 years old. She said she did not initially think her symptoms were down to heart problems. She had been preparing for Diwali with her daughter and suddenly felt like she was choking.
“The symptoms that I went through were different to my preconceived idea of a heart attack,” she told Eastern Eye. “I didn’t have the pain in my left arm – it was more like a lot of discomfort and not being to breathe.”
Stroke-on-Trent GP Dr Kanneganti noted that he had seen many patients who were showing early signs of diabetes and cardiovascular disease.
In recent years, he had seen a number of Asians as young as 30 suffering from heart attacks, he revealed. He also said he had seen an increased number of young British Asians diagnosed with diabetes.
“The cause is not understanding the importance of a healthy diet,” he said. “Sometimes they are busy, so some tend to get a takeaway which is cheap and easy for them, rather than cooking healthy food at home.
“We are definitely seeing that trend and that is why we need to make that change.”
Although Shah believes that she was not particularly unhealthy before the heart attack, she has made a conscious effort to exercise more regularly and keep an eye on her eating habits. She stressed the importance of a healthy lifestyle to her two children.
“As a family, we go on more active things as part of our leisure time and I try and get them to join me,” she said. “But if they do have my bad genes, I feel it is not irreversible and they are less likely to develop it if they stay healthy.”
Dr Kanneganti, who is also a local councillor for Stoke-on-Trent, said it was necessary to have prevention programmes implemented in schools.
Noting that he rarely saw other Asians in his local gym, the GP believed it was due to a lack of knowledge about the importance of a healthy lifestyle.
“If we can focus on health promotion for people from Asian backgrounds, there would be an increased amount of money that (the NHS) could save on (as the disease would be prevented later on),” he said.
Dr Chand said it was “far too simplistic” to suggest that obesity was down to the “moral failure” of individuals.
“It is, in fact, an unintended consequence of modern culture and powerful advertising,” he argued, adding that he had patients whose quality of life changed “dramatically” after they made efforts to lose weight and stop smoking.
“The issue of life expectancy can seem unimportant in youth and middle age, but immediate health benefits can be felt by those who succeed in giving up smoking and/or losing weight,” he said.
“But we can still only really help those who want to help themselves.”
The GP, who is honorary vice-president of the British Medical Association (BMA), said more action was needed at central and local government levels. He recommended opening school playgrounds and athletic fields to the local communities; realigning bus routes or other transport methods to increase access to supermarkets and grocery stores and developing walking and cycling networks.
“Such steps may be seen as radical, and in some cases may be unpopular, but legislation against smoking was once seen in the same way,” he added. “Our society has major problems, and we need drastic measures.
“Without such prevention, the NHS expenditure for treatment of acute and chronic illnesses will keep on soaring and our society will be the poorer for it – both in financial and health terms.”
Shah admitted she had not been aware of the increased health risks faced by south Asians, and encouraged others to make their health a priority. She also urged for more awareness in communities and among GPs.
“If a person of south Asian origin complained about their symptoms, I’m not convinced that all doctors believe it could be down to heart problems, which we are more at risk of,” she said. “We don’t want to start ringing alarm bells but being aware, asking more questions and looking for other factors can be lifesaving.”
Last month, health charity Diabetes UK launched a Derby-based campaign aiming to help young people from Indian, Pakistani and Bangladeshi backgrounds understand and act on their risk of Type 2 diabetes. Its new online tool, Know Your Risk, gives young people a “risk score”.
According to the group, those from a south Asian background have a greater risk of developing diabetes at a younger age – from as young as 25 years old, as opposed to 40 among their white peers.
Farhana Darwich, the BAME Reach and Impact projects officer at Diabetes UK, said that people from Indian, Pakistani and Bangladeshi communities were at an increased risk of Type 2 diabetes from the age of 25 but “a diagnosis isn’t inevitable”.
“That’s why it’s so important we help young people from these communities understand what their risk is, and what they can do to reduce it,” Darwich stressed. “We hope that by reaching out to younger people from these ethnicities, we can support the community as a whole to really get to grips with understanding their risk of developing type 2 diabetes and making the – often simple – lifestyle changes needed to avoid it.”
Julie Ward, a senior cardiac nurse at the BHF, told Eastern Eye that it was important for people to be aware of their family history of conditions such as heart attack and strokes. She added that those concerned about their health should visit their GP for advice.
“Other factors, like how you deal with stress levels, drinking too much alcohol or living in an area with bad air quality, can also affect your heart health,” she said.
PAKISTAN’S army chief Field Marshal Asim Munir on Monday (7) rejected Delhi’s allegation that his military received active support from longtime ally China in its conflict with India in May.
The Indian Army’s deputy chief, Lieutenant General Rahul Singh, said last week that China gave Islamabad “live inputs” on key Indian positions.
Singh did not elaborate on how India knew about the live inputs from China.
Regarding the possibility of China providing satellite imagery or other real-time intelligence, India’s chief of defence staff had said such imagery was commercially available and could have been procured from China or elsewhere.
The “insinuations regarding external support” are “irresponsible and factually incorrect”, Munir said in an address to graduating officers of the national security and war course in Islamabad, according to an army statement.
Pakistani officials have previously dismissed allegations of receiving active support from China in the conflict.
Beijing and Islamabad have longstanding close relations, with billions of dollars of Chinese investment in the country’s energy and infrastructure.
India’s relationship with China meanwhile was strained after a 2020 border clash that sparked a four-year military standoff, but tensions began to ease after the countries reached a pact to step back in October.
India and Pakistan used missiles, drones and artillery fire during the four days of fighting in May – their worst in decades – triggered by an attack in April on tourists in Indian Kashmir that New Delhi blamed on Islamabad, before agreeing to a ceasefire.
Pakistan has denied involvement in the attack in April.
Singh also added that Turkey provided key support to Pakistan during the fighting, equipping it with Bayraktar and “numerous other” drones, as well as “trained individuals”.
Ankara has strong ties with Islamabad, and had expressed solidarity with it during the clash, prompting Indians to boycott everything from Turkish coffee to holidays in the country.
Turkey’s defence ministry did not immediately respond to a Reuters request for comment on the allegations.
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Christine Kangaloo awards Narendra Modi with the Order of the Republic of Trinidad and Tobago last Friday (4)
INDIA’S prime minister, Narendra Modi met Argentine president Javier Milei in Buenos Aires last Saturday (5), urging the expansion of New Delhi’s preferential trade deal with South America’s Mercosur bloc.
The bilateral talks with Milei were the latest in Modi’s whistle-stop diplomatic tour culminating in the summit of Brics emerging economies which began last Sunday (6) in Brazil.
Diplomats from both countries at the meeting, which included a lunch, decided to “deepen bilateral relations and commercial ties,” according to a statement from the Argentine presidency.
John Dramani Mahama welcomes Modi on his arrival in Accra last Wednesday (2)
India’s foreign ministry diplomat, Periasamy Kumaran, told reporters Modi “requested Argentina’s support in expanding the India-Mercosur preferential trade agreement.” The Mercosur regional trade bloc, comprising Argentina, Brazil, Paraguay, Uruguay and Bolivia, is seeking closer ties with Asian economies in the face of Trump’s global trade war.
“The two leaders discussed the necessity of diversifying and expanding bilateral trade” in sectors including defence, technology and health, said Kumaran.
They also touched upon cooperation in the energy sector, including gas and petrol, as well as lithium, a key mineral for the clean energy transition. Argentina is the world’s fifth largest producer of lithium, according to the US Geological Survey.
“Excellent meeting with president Javier Milei of Argentina,” Modi wrote on X of the leaders’ second bilateral talks.
“We have covered significant ground in our bilateral relations, but we agree that the journey ahead is even more promising!”
Modi last week visited Trinidad and Tobago which last Friday (4) bestowed its highest honour as the Indian prime minister seeks to strengthen New Delhi’s ties with the Caribbean and Latin America.
More than a third of the population in the country is of Indian descent.
President Christine Carla Kangaloo gave him the Order of the Republic of Trinidad and Tobago at a ceremony at president’s House in St Ann’s, just outside the capital Port of Spain – the first time a foreign leader was so honoured.
“This honour is a symbol of the deep and eternal friendship between our two countries,” Modi said, according to an official translation. Relations between India and Trinidad and Tobago date back to 1845, when indentured Indian labourers first arrived to work on sugar and cocoa plantations under British colonial rule, following the end of slavery.
Between 1845 and 1917, more than 140,000 labourers settled in the Caribbean nation. The Indian community is now the country’s largest ethnic group, at 35.4 per cent of the population of 1.4 million.
Modi described Kangaloo and prime minister Kamla Persad-Bissessar “the biggest brand ambassadors of this community.” “India and Trinidad & Tobago rose from the shadows of colonial rule to write our destiny of progress. Our nations stand tall as proud democracies and pillars of strength in the modern world,” Modi wrote on X.
“It’s high time we all work together to give the Global South its rightful seat at the high table.”
Modi last Thursday (3) visited Ghana, in a first by an Indian leader in three decades.
He outlined plans for deeper ties between India and Africa, as New Delhi increasingly vies for a stronger economic presence on the continent along with China and Russia.
South Africa’s president Cyril Ramaphosa, Brazil’s president Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, Modi and China’s premier Li Qiang at the Brics summit last Sunday (6)
In a speech to Ghana’s parliament, Modi highlighted a major rail project that opened in the west African nation last year, financed by the India Export-Import Bank.
He also underlined his country’s expanding diplomatic development and business footprint in Africa.
“Over 200 projects across the continent enhance connectivity, infrastructure and Industrial capacity,” Modi said. On the political front he welcomed “the establishment of Ghana-India Parliamentary Friendship Society in your parliament”.
In a meeting last Wednesday (2), Modi and Ghanaian president John Mahama agreed to deepen security and mining ties.
The Indian prime minister also last Thursday called for a greater global diplomatic role for both his country and Africa, warning that “the world order created after the Second World War is changing fast”.
A FRESH parliamentary initiative to establish a dedicated Sikh regiment within the British Army has gained momentum in the House of Lords, with defence minister Lord Coaker expressing willingness to engage in further discussions about the long-debated proposal.
The issue was raised in the House of Lords on Monday (7) by Labour peer Lord Sahota, who asked whether there had been any progress on long-standing calls for a Sikh regiment.
"Given the loyalty of Sikh soldiers in both world wars, there has been talk of having a Sikh regiment in the British Army for a number of years," Lord Sahota said.
Minister of state at Ministry of Defence, Lord Coaker, responded positively, saying he was "quite happy to meet him to see what more we can do to recognise the contribution of soldiers such as Sikhs, and those of many other faiths as well."
He also referenced the upcoming VJ Day commemorations on August 15, noting it would be an appropriate time to reflect on wartime sacrifices, particularly those of Sikhs worldwide.
While no firm commitment was made to establish a regiment, the exchange represents the most encouraging governmental response to the proposal in recent years.
Sikhs have served in the British Army since the mid-1800s and became renowned for their martial traditions. During the First World War, over 100,000 Sikhs served in France, East Africa, and Gallipoli.
Despite being less than two per cent of British India's population, they comprised roughly 20 per cent of the Indian contingent. In the Second World War, more than 300,000 Sikhs participated in campaigns across North Africa, Italy, and Southeast Asia.
The proposal for a British Sikh regiment has been raised repeatedly in Parliament. In 2007, plans were dropped after the Commission for Racial Equality expressed concerns about potential segregation.
The debate was revived in 2015 when former defence secretary Nicholas Soames urged the government to overcome "political correctness" and honour Sikh military service.
Sikh community leaders have consistently argued they could easily recruit enough volunteers for a regiment, pointing to precedents such as the Scots, Welsh, and Irish Guards, and the Royal Gurkha Rifles.
Currently, around 160 Sikhs serve in the British Army. The Defence Sikh Network continues to celebrate Sikh military traditions and encourage recruitment from the community.
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Heat can also damage everyday items like sunglasses, suncream and vape devices
Experts urge motorists to avoid leaving certain items in vehicles during upcoming heatwave
Temperatures expected to rise above 30°C across large parts of the UK
Contraceptives and common medications can lose effectiveness in high heat
Heat can also damage everyday items like sunglasses, suncream and vape devices
Drivers urged to act as UK braces for extended heatwave
Drivers across the UK are being urged to remove a range of everyday items from their cars ahead of a predicted heatwave, with experts warning that the rising temperatures could pose both safety and health risks.
The Met Office has forecast a prolonged spell of hot weather, with temperatures expected to soar into the low 30s on Thursday and Friday. Much of the UK is likely to hit its regional heatwave threshold by the weekend, with this episode potentially affecting a wider area and lasting longer than previous hot spells.
While motorists are often aware of the dangers of leaving items like electronics or water bottles in hot vehicles, motoring specialists have highlighted a less commonly known risk — heat damage to contraception and medication.
Heat can reduce effectiveness of contraceptives
Experts from car dealership group Dick Lovett have warned that items such as birth control pills and condoms should not be left inside cars during hot weather. The interior of a vehicle can act like a greenhouse, with temperatures increasing by up to 50% in just an hour, even when the car is parked in the shade.
Most hormonal contraceptives, including the pill, need to be stored at temperatures between 20-25°C to remain effective. Exposure to extreme heat can degrade the active ingredients, reducing their ability to prevent pregnancy.
Similarly, condoms can be weakened by high temperatures, as heat may damage the latex or cause it to dry out, increasing the risk of breakage during use.
Drivers who store spare contraceptives in their glove box or handbag for emergencies are advised to remove them during heatwaves and follow the storage guidelines provided on the packaging.
Medicines and other everyday items also at risk
Alongside contraceptives, many commonly used medicines are also vulnerable to heat damage. Items such as inhalers, insulin, antibiotics, and other prescription medications can lose potency if stored in high temperatures for too long.
To prevent any potential health complications, drivers should remove all medication from their vehicles during hot weather and keep them in cool, temperature-controlled environments.
Other items to avoid leaving in cars during a heatwave include:
Suncream (can degrade or leak)
Vape devices (pose fire risk)
Sunglasses (can warp or become brittle)
Fizzy drinks (risk of explosion or container damage)
By taking a few simple precautions, motorists can reduce health and safety risks and avoid damage to personal belongings during the UK’s latest summer heatwave.
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The Royal Mail logo is seen on the side of a van as the UK government clear a 3.57 billion pound takeover offer by Czech billionaire Daniel Kretinsky in London, December 16, 2024. (Photo: Reuters)
MEDIA regulator Ofcom has set new minimum delivery standards for Royal Mail and revised existing targets in an effort to reduce delays. It also announced a review into pricing and affordability, amid concerns over rising stamp prices.
Royal Mail, which has faced fines of around $20 million over the past two years for not meeting delivery targets, is currently trying to modernise operations and focus more on parcel deliveries.
“Urgent reform is needed for the universal service to survive,” Ofcom said in a statement. The regulator said the revised delivery goals could help Royal Mail save up to £425 million ($578.3 million).
Under the new rules, Royal Mail must ensure that 99 per cent of mail is delivered no more than two days late. Ofcom has also adjusted the targets for next-day and three-day deliveries. The target for First Class mail will now be 90 per cent delivered the next day, down from 93 per cent. For Second Class mail, the target has been lowered from 98.5 per cent to 95 per cent within three days.
From July 28, Royal Mail will be permitted to deliver Second Class letters on alternate weekdays, while still aiming to meet the three-working-day delivery target, Ofcom said.
“Our research suggests that affordability and reliability are more important to people than speed of delivery, but they value having a next-day service available for when they need to send the occasional urgent item,” the regulator said.
Ofcom said it would launch a consultation on its pricing and affordability review next year.
In response to the announcement, Martin Seidenberg, Group CEO of Royal Mail’s parent company International Distribution Services, said the company welcomed the new measures.
“It is good news for customers across the UK as it supports the delivery of a reliable, efficient and financially sustainable universal service,” he said in a statement.