National Diabetes Week aims to change the negative perception towards the disease which affects millions of people in the UK

More than 4.3 million Brits suffer from diabetes according to official figures. The actual number could be much higher with an estimated 1.3 million living with an undiagnosed condition and a further 6.3 million who are either prediabetic or at a high risk of becoming diabetic.

This month sees Diabetes Week which aims to change the negativity around the disease, which all too often sees people blaming and shaming those living with diabetes. Experts say that attitude won’t help beat what is a complicated condition, urging more openness about what can be done to help.

WHAT IS IT

Diabetes is a life-long condition that causes a person’s blood sugar level to become too high. It can happen when your body doesn’t produce enough insulin or the insulin it produces isn’t effective. More people than ever have diabetes, with greater numbers at risk of type 2 diabetes.

There are 2 main types of diabetes:
• Type 1 diabetes – where the body’s immune system attacks and destroys the cells that produce insulin.
• Type 2 diabetes – where the body does not produce enough insulin, or the body’s cells do not react to insulin.

Type 2 diabetes is far more common than type 1. In the UK, around 90 per cent of all adults with diabetes have type 2.

CAUSES

The amount of sugar in the blood is controlled by a hormone called insulin which is produced by the pancreas, a gland behind the stomach. When food is digested and enters your bloodstream, insulin moves glucose out of the blood and into cells where it is broken down to produce energy. If you have diabetes, your body is unable to break down glucose into energy. This is because there’s either not enough insulin to move the glucose or the insulin produced does not work properly.

There are no lifestyle changes you can make to lower your risk of type 1 diabetes and the condition is mainly managed by medication. You can help manage type 2 diabetes through healthy eating, regular exercise and achieving a healthy body weight.

SYMPTOMS

Type 1 diabetes can develop quickly over weeks or even days, while many people have type 2 diabetes for years without realising because the early symptoms tend to be general.
Visit your GP as soon as possible if you experience the main symptoms of diabetes, which include:

• Feeling very thirsty
• Peeing more frequently than usual, particularly at night
• Feeling very tired
• Weight loss and loss of muscle bulk
• Itching around the penis or vagina, or frequent episodes of thrush
• Cuts or wounds that heal slowly
• Blurred vision

RISK REDUCTION

There’s little we can do to prevent type 1 diabetes but there is something that you can do to help prevent type 2. More than 12 million people in the UK are at risk of developing type 2 diabetes. And type 2 diabetes is serious. In around three in five cases, type 2 diabetes can be prevented or delayed by maintaining a healthy weight, eating well and being active.

You can reduce your risk of developing Type 2 diabetes by:

• Eating well
• Moving more
• Losing weight if you’re overweight