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Diabetes

Diabetes is a lifelong condition that causes your blood sugar level to become too high. There are two main types of diabetes: Type 1 and Type 2. 

What is Type 2 Diabetes?

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Diabetes is a condition where your body struggles to regulate the level of sugar (glucose) in your blood.  

 

Diabetes can be a serious condition if not managed, but small changes can make a big difference to help you live a healthy life, like walking and changing the way you eat. 

Type 2 diabetes is when your body can't make enough insulin, or the insulin you make doesn't work very well. 

 

Type 1 diabetes is when your body attacks the cells that make insulin. This page focuses on type 2 diabetes. 

Know your risk of developing type 2 diabetes

Some factors increase your risk of developing type 2 diabetes such as: 

Obesity / being over-weight 

    • If you are white with a BMI over 30  
    • If you are South Asian, Chinese Black Caribbean or Black Caribbean with a BMI over 27.5  

 

 Age   

    • If you are 40 or older   
    • 25 years old and above for Black Caribbean and Black African, South Asian, Chinese 

 

If someone in your family has type 2 diabetes   

    • You are 6 times more likely to develop diabetes  

 

Poverty 

    • Type 2 diabetes is 60% more common in low-income communities living in England. 

 

Ethnicity   

    • South Asian people in the UK are 6 times more likely to develop type 2 diabetes than the white population.  
    • African and African-Caribbean people in the UK are 3 times more likely to develop type 2 diabetes than the white population. 

How can I prevent type 2 diabetes?

You can lower your risk of developing type 2 diabetes by: 

 

  • Doing more exercise 
  • Losing weight if you are advised by a medical professional to do so 
Get support to prevent diabetes
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Get support to prevent diabetes

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Get free support to prevent diabetes

What are the symptoms of diabetes?

  • Needing to wee more often, especially at night
  • Being really thirsty
  • Being more tired than usual 
  • Losing weight without meaning to
  • Thrush 
  • Cuts taking longer to heal
  • Blurry vision 
  • Being more hungry than normal
Visit the Diabetes UK website for more information

Get support for people living with diabetes

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Related Services

Oviva NHS Type 2 Diabetes Path to Remission Programme

Oviva has partnered with the NHS to deliver a programme for people who are overweight and living with type 2 diabetes. Formerly called the NHS Low Calorie Diet, this 12 month programme will support you to lose weight using a low calorie diet, improve your blood glucose levels, reduce your medications, and potentially put your type 2 diabetes into remission.

NELFT NHS Foundation Trust logo with colorful letters and NHS branding.

NELFT Diabetes Nursing Service

Supports people over 18 years old with diabetes, newly diagnosed or have existing type one or two diabetes, frequent hospital admissions: for example, diabetes ketoacidosis, recurrent hypoglycaemia and or insulin initiation/insulin dose adjustment.

Diabetes UK logo with puple letters and 'know diabetes. Fight diabetes' tagline.

Diabetes UK Helpline

Get specialist information and advice on all aspects of living with diabetes. Call us for answers, support or just to talk to someone who knows about diabetes.

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