Title: BBC NEWS | Health | Rates of diabetes soar in the UK
Headings: Rates of diabetes soar in the UK
Rates of diabetes soar in the UK
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Content: Professor Alan Maryon-Davis, president of the UK Faculty of Public Health, said: " Early detection and treatment are crucial. We must do whatever we can to find the half-million people who don't know they've got it." Rates of obesity and diabetes will continue to rise unless we do something urgently
Tam Fry of the National Obesity Forum
There are currently over 2.5 million people with diabetes in the UK and there are more than half a million people with diabetes who have the condition and don't know it. Type 2 diabetes usually appears in people over the age of 40, however, recently, more children are being diagnosed with the condition, some as young as seven. Although obesity is a risk factor, not all people with type 2 diabetes are overweight. According to Diabetes UK, statistics show that over 80% of people diagnosed with type 2 diabetes are overweight. The NHS is spending £1m an hour - 10% of its yearly budget - treating diabetes and its complications, according to the charity. A Department of Health spokesperson said the rise in recorded diabetes cases was partly due to improvements in diagnosis, along with rising rates of obesity and an ageing population. As a result, more people were getting the support, advice and treatment required to prevent or delay complications.