13.6m face diabetes risk as cases double
Condition is the biggest health crisis of our time, warns charity
DIABETES diagnoses have doubled in 15 years – with almost 14 million Brits now at risk of developing Type 2.
The number of cases soared by 200,000 to 4.1 million in the 12 months to 2019/20, NHS data shows.
Almost one million more are thought to be unaware they have the condition.
Diabetes UK predicts those living with the disorder, which can lead to heart attacks and amputations, will rise to 5.5 million by 2030. The charity’s analysis suggests 13.6 million are at increased risk of developing Type 2 – up from 12.3 million in 2017.
Around 90% of those diagnosed have Type 2 which is linked to unhealthy lifestyles.
Cases were up from 3.9 million in 2018/19 and from 2.1 million when official records began in 2004/05.
Estimated to cost taxpayers £14billion a year, the charity called diabetes the “biggest health crisis of our time”.
It can also lead to blindness, kidney failure and nerve damage.
Chris Askew, chief executive at Diabetes UK, said: “Preventing Type 2 diabetes must be a public health priority. We know that with the right support, up to half of Type 2 diabetes cases − and the accompanying risk of life threatening complications − can be delayed or prevented.”
Tam Fry, of the National Obesity Forum, added: “For 20 years successive governments have done next to nothing to tackle obesity, diabetes’ principal trigger, and the numbers have rocketed as a consequence. “Until Boris Johnson wins his fight against fat which he announced a year ago this week, the UK will be plagued by increases in both obesity and diabetes.”