Re Rogers Rabbits (February 2) and Jim Bunny (February 16).

For BOP people living with diabetes (90 per cent being type two), the relationship between type two and obesity is not quite as simple as your column suggests. Not everyone who is obese will get type two diabetes, and not everyone who has type two is obese. Historically, type two has been viewed as a disease of over-eating and underactivity, however there is much more to the disease.

As you have reminded us, weight is a sensitive issue; losing weight and keeping it off can be a herculean task that many find impossible to achieve.

You are quite right that there's lots of evidence to show that being a ‘healthy weight' helps blood pressure, cholesterol and blood glucose as well as reducing the risk of developing other long-term health problems and that is where DESMOND is useful.

DESMOND is a one-day programme which considers some of the issues related to weight.

Whilst ‘hard talk, shaming and reminding' might be useful to some, most of us respond to encouragement, resourcing and support.

Please tell your readers with type two diabetes about DESMOND in the hope that we can support them to reduce their risk, live longer and get to read more from RR.

D Cunliffe, Diabetes Nurse Educator/Manager, Diabetes Help Tauranga (Abridged).