Winter Diabetes Challenges

Good morning, Dr. Fernandes. Thank you so much for your time to answer a few questions for our Hammersmith and Fulham community on healthshed.com. Please can you introduce yourself? My name is Paula Fernandes and I am a GP in Hammersmith. I work at the Hammersmith surgery and I have a special interest in diabetes. Thank you very much. So just thinking about the winter months, what effects of winter do you commonly see in patients with diabetes? Are there any concerns that you proactively address? So patients do tend to feel less inclined to go out and to exercise, in particular because it's cold, also because they're having to wear a lot of clothes. So whereas patients in the warmer months more likely to do these activities because it's easier, in the winter people tend to stay indoors more. That really is one of the things that we try and encourage people to maintain is continuing with activity and exercise. Thank you. And do your patients typically need extra support in the winter months with their diabetes? Yes, in particular with their diet. For one thing, in the summer months there are far more fruit and vegetables available in the shops and everywhere, whereas in the winter months they tend to veer more towards carbohydrates and sugary food and comfort food. People are more inclined to want to eat cooked food so it's then a question of trying to support them with going for the healthier options and keeping carbohydrates down. They also need encouragement to maintain a good fluid intake because obviously you know drinking cold drinks is not so appealing when it's cold weather so it's helping them to find drinks that they do enjoy. And what resources do you offer to help them with these challenges with diet? We have support groups, we also have our regular sessions with our patients where they come to see the nurses, we have their check-ups that we encourage them to come to where we continue to discuss healthy living and lifestyle.