Millions of Brits in denial about diabetes

One in three adult Brits are at greater risk of developing type 2 diabetes, but two-thirds of those are not worried about their health.
That’s according to new analysis by the Simplyhealth Advisory Research Panel, who claim that millions of people across the country are playing a dangerous game of diabetes denial.
A third of those polled by the Panel were either heavily overweight or obese and therefore deemed to be more likely to develop type 2 diabetes, backing data published last month in the British Medical Journal, which revealed that 30% of British adults now have prediabetes – often the precursor to full-blown type 2 diabetes.
However, most of the ‘at risk’ respondents claimed not to be concerned about the possibility of becoming diabetic, with 60% saying they don’t believe their higher risk is something to worry about it.
Commenting on the figures, Dr Ralph Abraham, one of the UK’s leading diabetes experts warned: “Britons really are taking a high-risk gamble.
“If you have prediabetes, there are no symptoms, and a shocking number of people are sleep-walking towards developing full diabetes and serious health problems.”
Another diabetes specialist, Dr Gill Jenkins, said: “This level of denial can be deadly. Diabetes damages blood vessels, destroys sight and undermines almost every aspect of your health until one day there is a crisis and it becomes impossible to ignore.
“The truth is that diabetes can be controlled and when it is managed many of the associated risks are reduced. But if it’s poorly managed or simply not diagnosed, it can have a devastating impact on the quality and length of your life.”
Yesterday, a team of researchers in the UK and U.S. controversially claimed the term prediabetes is unhelpful, unnecessary and of zero clinical worth. Writing in the British Medical Journal, they stressed that there is no proven benefit of prescribing medications for individuals classed as ‘prediabetic’ as many of them will not go on to develop diabetes.