According to an analysis of current trends by Public Health England, one person in every ten will have either Type 1 or Type 2 diabetes by 2035, or 10.4% of the population.
In 2015, they found that a shocking 9.4% of people aged 16 or over had diabetes, that’s 433,000 people, and that was just in the West Midlands alone.
Currently, there are a startling 3.8 million people across the UK that suffer from the disease, and the number is only set to increase. Figures showed that cases of diabetes have soared by 120,000 since last year. This correlates with an increase in obesity, unsurprising given Type 2 Diabetes is linked to unhealthy lifestyles.
Chris Askew, the chief executive of Diabetes UK, said earlier in the year, “The need to tackle this serious health condition has never been so stark or so urgent.” He called for a “concerted effort led by the Government to take active steps to address the fact that almost two in every three people in the UK are overweight or obese and are therefore at increased risk of Type 2 diabetes.”
PHE also suggest that 1 in 4 people who have diabetes do not know it yet, and as such, are delayed in getting treatment or do not get treatment at all. This is extremely worrying for the NHS as if left unchecked, diabetes can lead to kidney disease, stroke, heart attacks and even foot amputation.
Birmingham, Dudley, Herefordshire and Worcestershire have taken steps to deal with the rise by offering a service launched by PHE, the NHS and Diabetes UK. It aims to help those at risk of the disease and work to lower their risk.
Askew says “Basic measures such as making healthy food cheaper and more accessible, introducing clearer food labelling and making it easier for people to build physical activity into their daily lives would have a profound influence.”
