Slim people at risk of diabetes

Richard McGuire’s mother had diabetes and, like him, she was slim.

Peter Holt

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RICHARD McGuire looks a picture of good health as he goes about his daily 12km ride along the Bluewater Trail.

You would never guess the 60-year-old has Type 2 diabetes, a disease commonly associated with larger waist measurements.

It took some time before Mr McGuire, who has always been a slender man, even realised he had type 2 diabetes.

It wasn’t until routine blood-sugar level tests, following a case of kidney stones, that he was diagnosed with the disease.

The diagnosis changed Mr McGuire’s life in an instant, but he has learned to live with the disease.

The biggest changes Mr McGuire has made have been to his diet as sugar, much to his dismay, is now off the menu.

“I have to watch what I eat,” he said.

“I can’t drink ordinary Coke.”

“I cannot eat lollies and I’ve got a sweet tooth.”

Mr McGuire said ongoing tiredness was the first hint that he had Type 2 diabetes.

“I was getting very tired, especially around 6pm,” he said.

“I thought there may have been something amiss.”

Feeling tired is one of the symptoms of diabetes.

Other symptoms include the urge to urinate more frequently, blurred vision, unquenchable thirst, slow-healing wounds and dry, itchy skin.

Although Mr McGuire considered himself a pretty active guy before the diagnosis, he has had to increase his daily exercise.

The West Mackay resident now rides his bike 12km a day, an exercise regime that has resulted in him losing a few kilograms.

It appears it was hereditary predisposition to the disease, rather than waistline measurements, which put Mr McGuire at risk of type 2 diabetes.

“My mum had it and she wasn’t fat either,” he said.