ITS DEVASTATING EFFECTS

DIABETES not only leads to a lifetime on mediation, but a host of other health complications, including:

HYPERTENSION: 70 per cent of diabetics also require medication for blood pressure.

CHOLESTEROL: 65 per cent of diabetics require medication to reduce their cholesterol.

HEART ATTACKS: Diabetics, even on full medication, are twice as likely to be hospitalised or die from a heart attack.

STROKES: Diabetics are 1.5 times more likely to suffer a debilitating stroke.

BLINDNESS AND EYE PROBLEMS: Diabetes is the number one cause of preventable blindness in the developed world.

IMPOTENCE: Diabetes is also the top cause of erectile dysfunction.

DEMENTIA: Having diabetes doubles your risk of dementia.

KIDNEY DISEASE: Diabetes is the cause of kidney failure in half of all new cases; most people on dialysis are diabetics.

AMPUTATIONS: More than 7,000 people in the UK have limbs amputated every year because of complications of Type 2 diabetes.