Approximately 1.4million people have been diagnosed as suffering from diabetes in the UK, but it is believed another 1million people also suffer from the condition. The number of cases is set to double by the year 2010 as the population ages, more people lead sedentary lifestyles and become overweight. Tackling diabetes must be a major health priority for the new millennium. However, serious complications such as heart attacks and stroke occur two to three times more often than in non-diabetic people, and diabetes is the leading cause of blindness, amputation of the legs and kidney failure. When people are first diagnosed as having diabetes, about half of them already have evidence of early damage in the eyes, kidneys and blood vessels.
Diabetic complications develop in nearly a third of patients within ten years of diagnosis.
Diabetes is caused by a lack of the hormone insulin, needed to deliver glucose to all body cells. The BBC is not responsible for the content of external internet sites.