Junk food diet blamed as diabetes rates soar

Published on Sunday 24 October 2010 19:26

ONE person is diagnosed with diabetes every 40 minutes in Scotland, according to new figures that show the spread of the condition is faster than experts had previously predicted.

Statistics obtained by The Scotsman reveal that in the past 12 months another 14,000 Scots were added to those registered with GPs as diabetic.

At the current rate, Scotland faces a diabetes timebomb, with one in ten Scots expected to suffer from the disease by 2030.

The condition is increasing faster than anywhere else in the UK and experts blame the nation's endemic obesity.

In the past year, the number of registered diabetics in Scotland increased by 6.7 per cent, compared with 6 per cent in Northern Ireland, 5.7 per cent in England and 4.8 per cent in Wales.

There are now 223,943 people aged 17 and older registered as diabetic in Scotland, or 4.1 per cent of the population. Another 60,000 Scots are believed to have the disease but not know it.

Care and treatment of the disease costs the NHS in Scotland an estimated 1 billion a year. One health expert said many Scots "can't help themselves" for bad eating habits.

Naveed Sattar, professor of metabolic medicine at the University of Glasgow, said the vast majority of cases were caused by obesity, and that the average age of diagnosis will go down.

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He said: "Education alone will not work. A fair proportion of the population cannot help themselves from the abundance of high-density calorie and nice tasting treats. Unless we change our food culture, it's going to be hard to change these trajectories.

"Unless people go for a blood test, they are not going to get picked up as having diabetes. It needs to be systematic that we are looking for diabetes, not just when a suspicion is there - though cuts in funding may go against that."

Projections by the Association of Public Health Observatories (APHO) warn of rises of almost 40 per cent in the number of diabetics by 2030, by then totalling almost 400,000 in Scotland.

The estimates include both type 1 and type 2 diabetics and thousands who are likely to remain undiagnosed, making the figures beyond 2010 significantly higher than those registered with GPs.

Already, nearly one in ten people are diabetic in the Western Isles and Dumfries and Galloway, with Shetland, Highlands, Lanarkshire and Orkney all climbing towards the mark.

Diabetes UK had previously predicted that four million Britons would be diabetic by 2025, including a million undiagnosed.But a spokesman said the organisation has changed the date to 2011 in light of the latest numbers.

Around 90 per cent of Scots with diabetes have non- insulin dependent type 2 which is strongly linked to being overweight or obese, with increased prevalence for people from Afro-Caribbean or South Asian backgrounds.

While the average age of diagnosis is currently in the mid-50s, more Scots are being found to be diabetic in their 40s, 30s and even late 20s.

Earlier onset can mean a longer time to live with higher blood sugar levels, which can lead to complications such as heart disease, blindness, impotency, kidney failure and loss of limbs.

Dr Andrew Gallagher, endo-crynologist and lead clinician for NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde managed clinical network, said obesity is a main cause, but genetics also play a part.

He said: "It's a huge problem - nobody is disputing that. We have seen a huge explosion in diabetes cases and 10 per cent of the population with the disease is not a bad estimate of prevalence in times to come.

"People are no longer doing the manual labour they would have done in the past, and we have the advent of fast food. It's a big problem where public health measures are not always adopted by people who need them most."

Jane-Claire Judson, national director of Diabetes UK Scotland, said: "Once again we are seeing a rise in diabetes in Scotland. Many, but not all, develop type 2 diabetes because they are overweight or obese, so we must do all that we can to follow the "five fruit and veg a day" message, encourage daily physical activity and warn of the potentially devastating consequences of an unhealthy lifestyle.

"The diabetes epidemic is a clear example of why the Scottish Government must treat public health more seriously than ever before.

"Failure to act now means a bleak future of spiralling NHS costs and worsening public health.

"Diabetes is serious: if not diagnosed early or poorly managed, it can result in blindness and amputation or a shortened life expectancy from heart disease, stroke and kidney failure."

Ms Judson added: "We are also concerned at the levels of undiagnosed diabetes in Scotland. We have learned this week that some 60,000 people are estimated to have undiagnosed diabetes. Finding these 60,000 people is a task for government programmes; however, people can easily also find out if they are at risk."

The UK is the fattest nation in Europe and fifth most overweight of the world's 33 most developed nations. Scotland equals America with 35 per cent of children between the ages of 12 and 15 classed as overweight.

Across the UK as a whole, diabetes is calculated to cost the NHS 1m each hour.

A Scottish Government spokesman said: "Tackling rising rates of diabetes - particularly the obesity-linked type 2 - is a priority for the Scottish Government. Raising awareness is crucial if we are to prevent increasing numbers of people developing this condition."The key focus is on encouraging people to reduce their risk of developing the condition by eating healthily, maintaining a healthy weight and leading an active lifestyle.

"Our Diabetes Action Plan was launched this year, which considered both treatment of those with the condition and how we work towards preventing cases developing."

Last year, it was revealed that 620,000 Scots had so-called "prediabetes", making them up to 15 times more likely to develop type 2 diabetes in the future.

People with prediabetes, also known as impaired glucose regulation, have blood sugar levels higher than normal but not high enough to be diagnosed as type 2 diabetes.

But it may already be causing long-term damage to the body, especially the heart and circulatory system. And those with prediabetes are in addition to the 60,000 people who are thought to have fully developed diabetes but have yet to be diagnosed.