Number of people affected by diabetes hits new high

The number of people with diabetes in the UK has topped four million for the first time, according to new figures.

GP practice data, analysed by the charity Diabetes UK, shows there are now 4.05 million people living with the condition.

This includes 3.5 million adults who have been officially diagnosed - up 119,965 on the figure for the previous year and an increase of 65% over the past decade.

Some 549,000 people are also believed to have Type 2 diabetes but are currently undiagnosed. Type 2 diabetes is linked to unhealthy lifestyles, including obesity.

If current trends continue, an estimated five million people will have diabetes by 2025.

Chris Askew, chief executive of Diabetes UK, said there was a need 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.

He said: "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."

According to Diabetes UK, more than 24,000 people with diabetes die prematurely every year due to failures in accessing the best type of care.

The charity also warned that people are missing out on education courses designed to help them best manage their condition, with more than a third of regions in England still not running them.

Furthermore, hospital care for people with diabetes is consistently poor and puts some lives at risk, it said.