Islanders urged to get tested for diabetes

There are around 4,500 people living with either type 1 or type 2 diabetes in Jersey. Credit: Peter Byrne/PA Wire/PA Images

There are around 4,500 people living with either type 1 or type 2 diabetes in Jersey.

The condition affects one new person everyday in the island and can have serious consequences if it is undetected or ignored.

  • Type 1 diabetes is caused directly by the failure of the pancreas to produce insulin, a hormone that controls how the body uses sugar in the blood.

  • Type 2 diabetes is where the pancreas progressively reduces the amount of insulin it produces. It can often be controlled by diet alone but can develop to require medication and potentially need insulin injections.

This week is National Diabetes Awareness Week and ITV News spoke to one man who lives with the type 1 strand of the condition.

Diabetes Jersey was founded in Jersey in 2004 to ensure funding raised locally would help islanders living with the condition.

Peter Tabb, Diabetes Jersey, says there are many people in the island who are living with type 2 diabetes and are unaware of it.