KINGSTON, Jamaica — Renowned United Kingdom-based diabetes advocate Tony Kelly told Jamaican insurance executives and their guests recently that diabetes is too often dismissed as merely “just a little sugar’, as he urged them to take the non-communicable disease (NCD) seriously.

Speaking recently at the Mico University College at a forum, Kelly, who is here at the invitation of Jamaica Medical Foundation (JMF), said unmanaged diabetes can lead to severe complications and even death, as he highlighted the serious health consequences associated with uncontrolled diabetes, including cardiovascular disease, blindness, kidney failure, and amputations.

He encouraged Jamaicans to pay close attention to what he described as the “Four Ts” — tiredness, frequent toilet visits, excessive thirst, and getting thinner — as warning signs that warrant immediate medical consultation and testing for diabetes.