Study: Excess Weight Confirmed as Biggest Risk of Type 2 Diabetes

31 Jul 2014 --- Public Health England has stated for the first time that excess weight is the biggest risk factor for type 2 diabetes, with belly fat highlighted as the simplest indicator of diabetes risk. The public health body has now issued warnings that people who are overweight, as well as those who are obese, are at risk of this disease, which can lead to other conditions such as blindness, amputations and early death.

"Diabetes is a massive problem. It is getting clearer and clearer that it is a massive problem in England and the single best thing you can do to address it is to lose weight," said Alison Tedstone, chief nutritionist at Public Health England.

In the advisory group’s latest report, excess weight is highlighted for the first time as one of the biggest risk factors. It notes that 90% of those who suffer from the disease are overweight and treatments for both the disease and other related complications (such as kidney or cardiovascular disease), cost £8.8bn in the UK in 2010 to 2011, which is near to 10% of the NHS’s budget.

The report details analysis which shows that men who have a large waist circumference of over 102cm (40.2inches) are five times more likely to develop type 2 diabetes. Women whose waists measure over 88cm (34.7 inches) are three times more likely to develop the disease.

It is not just about those who are morbidly obese, said Tedstone. "Over 60% of us are at risk of type 2 diabetes because we are overweight," she said. "But overweight has become normalised and many people no longer realise they are potentially endangering their health. People underestimate their weight. They underestimate their children's weight," she said. "They perhaps think they don't need to do anything about it."

Barbara Young, chief executive at Diabetes UK said the group hoped the report would act as a “spur to action”. She said: “With many millions of people in the UK now at high risk of type 2 diabetes, this is an epidemic that looks likely to get even worse, and if this happens then the impact on the nation's health would be devastating and the increase in costs to the NHS would be unsustainable."

“This is why we need the Government to focus much more on preventing Type 2 diabetes. It needs to ensure the NHS Health Check is properly rolled out and that those it identifies as being at high risk of Type 2 are given the support they need to make lifestyle changes.”

Young also called on the government to consider making healthy food more accessible to the nation, through measures such as taxation and more robust regulation of the food industry. “But while the Government has a big role to play in turning back the rising tide of Type 2 diabetes, people can also take action themselves,” she said. “I would urge people to get their risk of Type 2 diabetes assessed, whether online, at a pharmacy or at their GP. This is because knowing if you are at high risk can be an important first step towards making the kind of changes that can help prevent it.”