On Saturday 17 October, the Leicester Diabetes Centre welcomed members of the local African and Caribbean community for a morning of food, physical activity and conversation about healthy living and diabetes research.
The African and Caribbean Healthy Eating and Active Living event formed part of the Festival of Social Science 2026, funded by the Economic and Social Research Council, part of UK Research and Innovation (UKRI). It was led by Dr Gráinne Whelehan and facilitated by other members of Professor Louise Goff’s research team, including Dr Dru Johnson, Koby Acheampong, Farid Salimi and Johanna Ebosa.
The event provided practical, accessible information about staying healthy, while also giving visitors an opportunity to learn more about the research in Leicester that aims to improve health in African and Caribbean communities.
Throughout the morning, attendees rotated through three interactive activities. The physical activity workshop combined bodyweight exercises with demonstrations of gym equipment, providing practical examples of different ways to keep active.
The healthy eating workshop was led by Lauren Senior and included short presentations alongside hands-on sugar cube and salt activities, helping to bring information about nutrition to life in an accessible and engaging way. The session had been developed with a particular focus on healthy eating and African and Caribbean foods.
Food was also at the heart of the cookery demonstration, where attendees could see healthy food preparation in action. The planned demonstration included preparing coleslaw and a jollof rice and seasoning mix, which attendees could enjoy sampling at the end of the activities.
Alongside the workshops, visitors had the opportunity to view research posters, hear about ongoing research, and speak with the research team. PhD researchers Johanna Ebosa and Koby Acheampong shared findings from their PhD projects, and Dr Gráinne Whelehan shared details of the upcoming DIVERSE trial that will explore the ethnic differences in response to weight loss in people with type 2 diabetes. Attendees were also invited to express an interest in taking part in research, helping to create a valuable connection between the local community and health research taking place in Leicester.
Reflecting on the event, Dr Whelehan said: “We were delighted with how the event went. There was such a positive atmosphere, and it was great to see the enthusiasm from the attendees while sharing their experiences and engaging with the activities.”
If you are interested in finding out more about diabetes research and how to get involved, visit our research studies page to view current active studies and to contact our friendly research teams.
Latest LDC News:
