1 in 11 people in Wales could have diabetes by 2035

Public Health Wales is warning that the number of people living with diabetes in Wales could rise by 48,000 by 2035.

This would be a 22% increase in the number of people with the disease in 2021/2022.

Public Health Wales is warning this increase could put more pressure on the Welsh health service. Last year, £105 million was spent on rugs to help people manage diabetes in Wales.

Around 8% of adults in Wales, more than 200,000 people, currently live with diabetes.

90% of those with diabetes have type 2 diabetes and, over half of those cases could have been prevented or delayed due to lifestyle changes.

There are two types of diabetes. Type 1 is an auto-immune disease that stops the pancreas from creating insulin and is unpreventable.

Type two diabetes is often linked to lifestyle choices, and can be prevented in up to 50% of cases.

Eating a more balanced diet, staying at a healthy weight, and being active for 30 minutes each day could reduce the chances of developing type two diabetes.

Catherine Washbrooke-Davies is the Wales Nutrition and Dietetic Lead for Diabetes and Diabetes Prevention from Public Health Wales. She told us some of the long term risks of diabetes if not treated.

"It can have really poor outcomes and long-term complications, with damage to the eyes, the kidneys and your circulation, but, they're not inevitable. They are preventable which is the key. All complications linked with diabetes are definitely preventable.

"This is what we want to raise the profile of. We know that roughly 50% of those with type two diabetes are preventable because it is linked to those health behaviours.

"So one of the real passions for those who work in diabetes services is to support as many people as possible and as early as possible so that those long-term complications are things that never happen".

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