The number of people with diabetes has doubled in the last 15 years, with obesity fuelling the rise, a charity has warned.
Data analysed by Diabetes UK shows that in 2004/05 the number of people diagnosed with diabetes was 2.1 million, but by 2019/20 this had jumped to around 4.1 million.
A further 850,000 people are living with undiagnosed type 2 diabetes, a rise of 150,000 in the last year, meaning more than 4.9 million people are currently living with diabetes in the UK.
If this trend continues, there will be 5.5 million in the UK with diabetes by 2030, the charity said.
It warned that obesity is fuelling type 2 diabetes, accounting for 80% to 85% of someone’s chances of developing the condition, with the number of obese people rising from 6.9 million to 13 million over the last 20 years.