Type 2 diabetes is the chronic disease I encounter most frequently in Roma communities. It runs in families, it thrives on the cheap, high-sugar diet that poverty forces people toward, and it damages your eyes, kidneys, feet, and heart for years before you feel anything wrong. I have seen men in their 40s lose toes, and women go blind, from diabetes that was never diagnosed because they never had a blood test. This is preventable.
If anyone in your family has diabetes, your risk is 2–3 times higher. This is not fate — it is a signal to act now. Reduce white bread, sugar, and sugary drinks. Replace with beans, lentils, vegetables, and water. I have seen families reverse pre-diabetes entirely through these changes
30 minutes of walking every single day reduces your diabetes risk by 58%. Not running. Not gym. Walking. I tell every person over 35 in the communities I work with: the walk is the medicine. It is free and it works better than most pills for prevention
Ask for a fasting blood glucose test at your health center at least once a year if you are over 35, overweight, or have family history. It is a simple finger-prick test, it is free in most countries, and it takes 5 minutes. This one test can catch diabetes years before symptoms appear
Know the warning signs that mean diabetes may already be present: constant thirst, urinating very frequently (especially at night), vision becoming blurry, wounds that heal slowly, unexplained fatigue. If you have two or more of these, get tested this week — not next month
Studies in Roma communities in Slovakia and Romania have found diabetes prevalence 2–3 times higher than the national average, with the majority of cases undiagnosed. In one program I participated in, community-based screening detected diabetes in 18% of adults over 40 who had never been tested. Nearly all of them had no symptoms.
If you are over 35, go to your health center and ask for a blood sugar test. It takes 5 minutes. If the result is above 5.6 mmol/L (100 mg/dL), you need to start making changes now. Bring a family member — if your risk is high, theirs likely is too.