Diabetes poll worrying, say experts

More than half of UK adults do not see diabetes as a health threat, a survey found.

It discovered that 55% of people are not concerned about developing the disease.

Almost half of Scots surveyed said diabetes is not a health consideration, while 58% of those in Northern Ireland said they are not worried about developing the condition.

The research, conducted on behalf of Asda Pharmacy, found 41% of people in both the South and North of England said they are not concerned about diabetes compared with one in three people in the Midlands and 31% of Welsh people.

The apparent lack of concern could be attributable to an inadequate knowledge about the condition, a spokeswoman said, after one in 10 of the 2,000 people polled said they do not know what diabetes is.

Faisal Tuddy, deputy superintendent pharmacist at Asda, said: “It is worrying to discover people still aren’t clued up to the causes of diabetes, especially when statistics from Diabetes UK and the NHS prove we’re a nation at risk.

“We offer free blood glucose screening and advice to our shoppers, which can help indicate the likelihood someone has, or is at risk of developing diabetes in the future.”

In the UK, there are 3.7 million people with diabetes, including an estimated 850,000 people who have Type 2 diabetes but do not know it.

Type 1 diabetes, which develops when the body cannot produce any insulin, is an autoimmune condition that accounts for 10% of all cases of diabetes.

Type 2 diabetes, which accounts for 90% of all cases, occurs when the body does not produce enough insulin for it to function properly.

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