ALMOST one in 10 people in the UK could be living with diabetes by 2030 – the equivalent of 5.5 million people, a charity has warned.
The huge rise in affected people will mean millions more people at risk of “devastating complications” including heart attacks, kidney failure, stroke, amputation and blindness, Diabetes UK said.
Chris Askew, the charity’s chief executive, said the country is “at the tipping point of a public health emergency” and action is needed “to stop it in its tracks”.
Unless something is done to stem the rise in cases, Diabetes UK estimates there could be more than 87,000 hospital admissions a year in England by 2030.
This would be an increase of 14 per cent from 2020-21 and more than 50 per cent higher than the figure for 2006-07.
The data is based on Public Health England and the Association of Public Health Observatories’ diabetes prevalence projection models.
Additional analysis from Diabetes UK also suggests one in three UK adults – more than 17 million people – could be at increased risk of developing Type 2 diabetes by 2030.
The programme aims to help people reach a healthy weight, learn to eat better and make regular exercise a part of life.
The charity is calling for action on several fronts, including enrolling more people in the NHS diabetes prevention programme.
Diabetes UK also wants people who are diagnosed with Type 2 diabetes to go into remission where possible through measures such as tailored weight-loss advice or gastric band surgery.
At the moment, almost 4.1 million people in the UK are diagnosed with either Type 1 diabetes or Type 2, which is heavily linked to obesity and can also be influenced by age, ethnic background and family history.
It is thought a further 850,000 people are living with Type 2 diabetes but do not know it.