Читать книгу Sugar Addicts’ Diet - Nicki Waterman - Страница 43

• Diabetes affects 1.4 million people in England

• Diabetes UK says there may be as many as another million people who have diabetes but don’t realize it – the ‘missing million’

• The number of people being diagnosed with diabetes increases each year

• It’s estimated that five per cent of all NHS expenditure is on diabetes

Type 2 diabetes is where the body fails to produce enough insulin or doesn’t know how to use the insulin it has made. It used to be called ‘late’ or ‘adult onset’ diabetes because the average age of diagnosis is around 52. But rising levels of obesity has led to Type 2 diabetes being seen increasingly in younger people – even children.

Diabetes UK says the fact that as a nation we are increasingly overweight and less active is key to the rise in diabetes. Central body fat – being ‘apple shaped’ – is strongly linked to insulin resistance, where the body produces insulin but isn’t able to use it properly. Studies show that diabetes increases the risk of ill health from conditions such as heart disease, stroke and kidney failure and shortens lifespan. One study says Type 2 diabetes doubles or trebles the risk of dying prematurely.