Cut your risk of diabetes

Check out our guide on how to dodge health timebomb

THE diabetic epidemic is set to send the number of heart attacks and strokes rocketing by 30%, the British Heart Foundation warns.

People with type 2 diabetes are twice to four times more likely to have one or the other than people without it.

Almost four million of us are living with diabetes, but that will rise above five million in 20 years, due to worsening lifestyles and obesity.

Diabetes UK’s Dan Howarth says: “Alarmingly, around a million people have undiagnosed type 2 diabetes.” But here we reveal how to cut your diabetes risk

in weeks. WARNING Diabetes UK’s Dan Howarth

Why is it so dangerous?

Quite simply, diabetes causes people to have too much glucose – sugar – in their blood. Mr Howarth says: “This can seriously damage blood vessels.” This, in turn, increases the risk of cardiovascular disease, stroke, kidney failure, amputation and blindness.

Mr Howarth says: “While you can’t do anything about certain risk factors, such as your age, ethnicity and genetic make-up, you can change your lifestyle and dramatically influence your chances of developing the condition.

“Up to 90% of cases of type 2 diabetes can be prevented, or at least delayed, with lifestyle changes.”

Are you at risk?

You can find out if you are at risk at diabetes.org.uk/riskscore. Mr Howarth says: “While a free NHS Health Check is offered to 40 to 74-year-olds, if you are experiencing any symptoms of diabetes, such as drinking a lot because you are thirsty, peeing more frequently and feeling more tired, make an appointment with your GP to get your blood sugar checked.”

It is important to identify those who have a high chance of getting type 2 diabetes, explains Simon O’Neill of Diabetes UK.

He says: “We know that doctors use a range of terms, such as prediabetes. There are no defined criteria for prediabetes or borderline diabetes. It’s used by clinicians because it can be useful when explaining your individual risk.”

He says between 5% and 10% of people with prediabetes go on to develop type 2 diabetes so they do need to act now to prevent it.

What you can do Watch your waistline

Being overweight significantly increases the chances of developing type 2 diabetes. But Mr Howarth warns it is waist size – or trunk obesity, what used to be called a beer belly – that is “the greatest risk factor”. A waist measurement of more than 37 inches for a man and 34 inches for a woman means there’s an excess of fat in the abdominal area that inhibits the effectiveness of insulin reaching organs, such as the liver and pancreas. So, monitor your waist as well as your weight, he advises.

You are what you eat

It’s not only the amount, but the type of food you

eat, big part in that can play a increasing your diabetes risk. Research has shown that a diet high in “bad” fat, salt and sugar increases risk,while eating more fibre and fruit and veg will reduce your risk. Just ditching sugary drinks can have a big impact. Researchers found that regularly drinking just one sugary soft drink a day increased the risk of developing type 2 diabetes by 22%. Mr Howarth says: “We need to dispe the myth that you can’t eat healthily o a budget. Simple measures, such as