- To investigate the body's response to exercise
in a diabetic individual, in extreme environments undergoing extreme
endurance exercise, compared to that of someone who does not have diabetes
- To record the difference in markers of stress (such
as stress, immunological and free radicles) to investigate the
body's reaction to extreme exercise in extreme environments
- To investigate different storage methods for insulin
in extreme environment
Diabetes
Over 1.9 million
adults in the UK are currently diagnosed as diabetic, that is
4% of all men and 3% of all women. However, not all diabetes
is diagnosed and there are thought to be another 600,000 people
with undiagnosed diabetes as well, which puts the total figure
at approximately 2.5 million people in the UK with diabetes.
There are two types of diabetes.
Type 1 usually occurs in the younger individual. It causes your
body to launch an autoimmune attack on your pancreatic cells
and destroys them , so that you do not have enough of the hormone
insulin. Type II diabetes occurs in later life, is linked to
obesity and diet, and is caused if the cells in your body become
poor at responding to the effects of insulin, so termed insulin
resistance. There are other types that you may also have heard
of, such as gestational diabetes. |
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Diabetes is a killer. It is a condition
where the body cannot use glucose (sugar) properly. If untreated or
not well managed, it may be a progressive and life threatening disorder
with potentially devastating consequences for health. These include
a higher risk of heart disease, stroke, kidney failure, eye disease
(which can lead to blindness), and foot ulceration (that can lead to
amputation). Studies have shown the importance of both tight blood
glucose control and of lowering blood pressure in delaying the onset
of the complications of the disease.
Therefore, we hope that this journey will help to promote good blood
sugar control and healthy and active living in the diabetic community.
More
information on diabetes can be found at the Diabetes Uk website or
by emailing the research@extremesouth.org
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