Why is the UK in the grip of a diabetes epidemic?

Analysis: Nine out of ten diabetes cases are of the Type 2 variety, which is closely linked to obesity. Alex Matthews-King says more can be done to prevent suffering

Complications arising from diabetes can be extremely serious (PA)

A record 4.7m UK adults are living with diabetes in the UK.

Around a fifth of these are undiagnosed and are therefore unknowingly at increased risk of nerve damage, amputations and other complications arising from the disease.

The statistics from Diabetes UK show the trend of annual increases is continuing more or less unabated; the latest rise is around 7 per cent up on last year’s figure. There are set to be 5.5m cases by the end of the next decade according to Diabetes UK, despite efforts to bring the number down.