DRWF Podcast: Increased risk of type 2 diabetes in people from different backgrounds
In the latest DRWF podcast, we present a series of interviews on the subject of how people from different backgrounds can be more at risk of type 2 diabetes. This is the second of a two-part feature.
This article was produced as part of the DRWF Living with Diabetes podcast series.
DRWF podcast presenter Claire Levy said: “In this episode we are looking at living with type 2 diabetes in ethnicity. We know that Black, Asian and ethnic minority groups are three times more likely to have a diagnosis of type 2 diabetes than white people. We are very interested to hear from people who can share their experiences on this matter.”
Francine Daley
Francine set up 360° Lifestyle Support Network CIC (community interest company) in 2021 with her brother Leon Thomson. The 360° community aims to make healthcare more accessible for Black African and Black Caribbean individuals.
It does this by sharing resources and knowledge regarding holistic health and wellness from industry professionals, to complement advice of mainstream healthcare from the GP.
It educates and inspires people to change their lifestyle to create better versions of themselves. Although looking at all aspects of health, our niche focuses on topics such as diabetes, obesity, hypertension, stress and mental health as these are issues proven to affect the Black community the most.
“Mindset plays a big part. If you believe you can’t, you most probably won’t. And if you believe you can, you will. It is about waking up one morning and deciding to take responsibility of your own health” – Francine Daley
Francine: “I was diagnosed with type 2 diabetes in 2008. My mum lived with diabetes. And family members also had diabetes.”
Living with Diabetes: How did you feel when you received the diagnosis?
Francine: “The doctor said to me, you have got type 2 diabetes, or I was pre-diabetic. He said I might as well start taking metformin because it is a degenerative disease and your parents have got it. Then I was given a Westernised diet sheet with food that I don’t eat. And that was it.”
Living with Diabetes: There was no other support or help from any healthcare professionals?
Francine: “No, nothing. Because I didn’t really understand what it was, the severity and everything like that. My mum lived well with it. She was on medication. I saw her do the finger prick tests, and then she went about her every day life. That’s how it was.
“From other family members, I have a cousin who was type 1 diabetes, who often had a lot of hypos, where he would run out of sugar and we would have to run with the sugar. That was as much as I knew about it. I didn’t know anything else, so I just ignored it. I just carried on with my life, basically, and didn’t take the medication.”
Living with Diabetes: So, what made you change? What made you look for more information?
Francine: “It was years later when I started my organisation. We were having people talk about diabetes. I started to hear about the severity of diabetes.
“I knew my diabetes blood glucose levels were up and down. It wasn’t until December last year, my HbA1c glucose levels went up to 125. I’ve now taken medication on and off through my diabetes journey.
“I did take metformin for a while, but then I used to feel sick on it. Then I went on to dapagliflozin 10 milligrams and dropped the metformin. I used to take this intermittently because I don’t like taking medication. So sometimes I’m good. Sometimes I’m a rebel and don’t do it. Then I have done things like intermittent fasting and watch what I eat and my glucose levels came down.
“The point recently that made me really take it seriously was because we had a diabetes and culturally tailored intervention based on the group consultation model.
“I had to decide then that as I was leading the programme, I could not be standing here with 125 HbA1c and leading a group, telling them how to do it, what to eat, what not to eat. Because I know it all. I had the education on it.
“I did know it all, but I wasn’t practicing it, so I had to proceed with my big birthday in October last year. I was turning 50 and my health was really poor. I live with depression and anxiety and fatigue and anaemia. I had health issues that really affected me.
“In December I just turned around and said, no, I’m not doing it anymore. I started taking care of myself, taking the medication, watching what I eat. Then we started the programme in April for six months with a cohort of patients and, by September, my HbA1c went from 125 down to 45. I am now classed as having pre-diabetes.”
Living with Diabetes: That’s absolutely amazing. You have ended up helping yourself by helping other people to learn more.
Francine: “Mindset plays a big part. Without mindset you cannot do anything. If you believe you can’t, you most probably won’t. And if you believe you can, you will. It is about waking up one morning and deciding to take responsibility of your own health.
“I refuse to walk and rattle with all the different tablets that I could have been on. Currently I take what has been prescribed, but my aim is to come off those medications by early next year, because if I get my diabetes under control, then perhaps I will not need medication. That is my aim.
“For me, it is about having support from healthcare professionals and having someone to speak to when you do not feel great. It is all very important.
“Seek counselling. I have had several counsellors over a period of time, and you can ask for a counsellor from your culture. Sometimes someone from another culture does not understand exactly what you are going through.
“I think you have got to be open and honest with yourself. It is no use pretending that you are being good when you are not. You have got to be true to yourself.
“Journalling and keeping a food diary is very important on your diabetes journey, to get your emotions out on paper. You can collect your thoughts, you can reflect. We promote journaling as part of a healthy lifestyle journey. Just being open and honest and truthful. True to yourself. Be your true, authentic self. If I can go from HbA1c of 125 in December last year to 45 this year – anybody can do it.”
Living with Diabetes: We wish you well on the rest of your journey.
Francine: “Thank you. Next time you speak to me, I will say I am now no longer classed as having pre-diabetes.”
Jan King
Jan has been a supporter of DRWF for many years after accompanying her mum to a Diabetes Wellness Weekend event. She is a fervent supporter of the charity and has passed on her knowledge of living with diabetes to her two sons.
Jan still supports her mum and the family where type 2 diabetes has been a factor in many of their lives.
Jan completed an HND (higher national diploma) in Catering and Operational Institutions at Ealing College (now University of West London) and she studied a combined degree in Food and Accommodation with Business Finance, at Leeds University.
Jan has an interest in school meals programmes to enable fresh food to be prepared on site.
Jan is always ready to take on challenges and these have included survival training on oil rigs and submarines in the North Sea.
Jan talked to DRWF about diabetes in the Black, Asian, Afro-Caribbean and minority ethnic population.
“Diabetes is unique. People don’t always know what the first step is, or what a good starting point is. When you make awareness relevant to the population and their demographic, then that is when it becomes really useful and powerful” – Jan King
Living with diabetes: You have been involved with understanding type 2 diabetes for many years with your mum. What is the prevalence of type 2 diabetes in the family?
Jan: “There are a number of relatives who have been diagnosed with type 2 diabetes both on my mother’s and my father’s side. There are a lot of people living with diabetes in my family.”
Living with diabetes: How did your mother react to her diagnosis all those years ago?
Jan: “Shock. Disbelief. Gutted. Wondering what she had done wrong. Whether there was anything she could have done differently. Whether she was going to pass it on to us as well. Which, I’ve got to admit, I’ve never been concerned about it, because I know that my mum and my dad now have type 2 diabetes. It’s just one of those things. I make sure that I get tested regularly. I try and make my lifestyle as clean and healthy as it can be for a 50-something-year-old woman with adult children.”
Living with diabetes: How does the Caribbean diet affect people in the family who are living with type 2 diabetes or who want to try to avoid the condition?
Jan: “I think like most modern diets, there are a lot of carbohydrates and that will always be the case. We have tried to introduce the usual things for a healthy diet – leafy green vegetables, salads, making sure that there is a balance there. Not just for one meal, but every single meal.”
Living with diabetes: How does your knowledge of diet, health and type 2 diabetes affect you and your family?
Jan: “I am very conscious of it. I am always looking at what I eat. I have a natural tendency to avoid sugar and chocolates and sweet things. I know I don’t have to, but I naturally feel better if I do. I think I have instilled that in both of my children because one of my boys is vegan and one is vegetarian. The fact that they have been to events with my parents and myself reinforces it.”
Living with diabetes: Have other members of your family made changes to their diet and exercise by understanding more about type 2 diabetes? Have you helped them?
Jan: “They call me the food police! I am constantly saying, ‘Do we need all these carbs? Let’s get some salads in here.’ Right down to Christmas Day. Everyone’s like, ‘Oh, Jan’s going to bring her salad. She’s going to make us all have some green vegetables.’ Yes, I did, because I do believe that it is really important. There is a balance to be had, but if you are not having any, then it is so much worse than if you are having a little bit. And I think a little bit can go a very long way.”
Living with diabetes: How would you feel if you received a type 2 diabetes diagnosis?
Jan: “I would be gutted, and I would go through, ‘What have I done wrong? What could I have done differently? Do I drink too much? Are my cortisol levels too high?’ I would go through the full range of emotions.”
Living with Diabetes: Even though you know the genetics might be part of that?
Jan: “I keep saying to everybody I’m the one that is going to buck the trend. I am not getting diabetes. You lot can all have it. I’m not having it. I will be doing things for my lifestyle that are going to prevent me from having it. I get the statutory rolling of the eyes. But for me personally, I would find it hard to accept. I know that, I think because of living with diabetes with my mum, I don’t want to do it for myself as well.”
Living with Diabetes: How has type 2 diabetes affected your sons’ lives, life choices and their jobs?
Jan: “My eldest son, Luke, is 25 and Zach is 22. Zach previously attended a DRWF retreat. Subsequently at university he has done a degree in sports and exercise, and his thesis was on people living with diabetes and how exercise affects their lives. I think that has had a pretty big impact on him.
“Luke is studying engineering at Liverpool University. I think his choice to be a vegan stemmed from conversations we have had around food, because we are a very food-orientated family and I think most Caribbean families, everything really centres around food.
“Both my sons go to the gym. I go to the gym. Would we necessarily have done this if my mother did not have her type 2 diagnosis? I don’t think so.”
Living with Diabetes: What is your job? What diabetes knowledge do you bring to the role? And what difference has your work made to the children that you work with?
Jan: “I’m an environmental health officer for school meals. I make sure that every child has a hot, healthy meal.
“I bring awareness of the fact that diabetes is as unique as your fingerprint. There is not a one size fits all. There can be many different symptoms for people. “We had an incident where somebody had a hypo (hypoglycaemic episode, or low blood glucose). If it was not for the fact that my mother had diabetes and I knew the signs, I would not have known and I would not have known what to do – and I think it would have been a lot worse than it was. From that point of view, it has been very helpful.”
Living with Diabetes: How much awareness of type 2 diabetes is there in the Caribbean, Black and Asian community? Do you think we could create more awareness of the increased risk of diabetes in certain populations?
Jan: “I think the awareness in all demographics is really important. I think there is a level of awareness, but there is a lack of knowledge about how much of something is optimal for them. There is a natural tendency to want to get to the root cause of something, which is not always possible with diabetes.
“I think getting the message across that diabetes is unique, that there is help and support. A good starting point, I feel, is all of those – diabetes charities, specialists, nurses, doctors – people who know more than you do. People don’t always know what the first step is, or what a good starting point is. When you make awareness relevant to the population and their demographic, then that is when it becomes really useful and powerful.”
Living with Diabetes: What would you say is the best way to encourage members of the Caribbean community to engage in learning and be proactive in their self-management of diabetes?
Jan: “I’m old-school and I think in-person events – days that are dedicated to diabetes and being able to meet other people living with diabetes. Education around lifestyle, the myth-busters. There is a lot of information. Also, being able to just weed out the noise and what is just not true as well. I think that is really difficult for people.
“I sometimes think that in the Black, Caribbean and Asian cultures, everything is really centred around food and dance and coming together in the community. That makes people want to engage and come along and join in and, you know, be a part of it.”
Living with Diabetes: Is there anything else you would like to add to this discussion?
Jan: “When you are living with diabetes, it is really good to share your diagnosis with people, share your struggles, but also share your wins. There is nothing to be ashamed of. People will want to help you and they will want to support you. I don’t feel that it does anyone any good being the best-kept secret.”
Living with Diabetes: Is that something you think men do in the community more than women?
Jan: “Apart from people that I have met through DRWF, I do not know one single male that has openly told me that they have got diabetes. Something has happened where I found out or they have written about it in their books.”
Living with Diabetes: Once you share and talk about it, it is amazing how much support you can get.
Jan: “Being vulnerable and to go through the full range of emotions that you are feeling is incredibly powerful. However, it is almost seen as a weakness to talk about it. You might be the person who is going to empower young people to take their health really seriously.
“You do not know what you are going to do until you try and until you say something because we are all so good at shouting out other people, but we actually hide our own light in the bushels.”
Listen to the interviews in full as part of the DRWF Living with Diabetes podcast series
Read part one here
Living with Diabetes
This latest edition of our podcast Living with Diabetes was supported by Abbott.
Living with Diabetes is a Blue Aurora media production for DRWF. Copyright 2025 Diabetes Research & Wellness Foundation. All rights reserved.
This article was produced as part of the DRWF Living with Diabetes podcast series and appeared in the Summer 2025 edition of Diabetes Wellness News. To subscribe visit here
Recent News
