THIS week is Diabetes Prevention Week and the NHS England Diabetes Prevention Program has launched a national campaign to help raise awareness of the condition. Every two minutes someone in the UK is diagnosed with diabetes and every week 500 people die from complications associated with the disease.

Having worked in the NHS for many years now, I’ve see firsthand the increasing number of people knocking on my door with diabetes, and the problem is only getting worse.

The knock-on effect of this is not just dangerous for the sufferers, but detrimental to the NHS as a whole – ten percent of the entire budget for England and Wales is spent managing just this one, often preventable, condition.

Type 2 is the one that has seen such drastic growth in recent years, but it’s also the one we can do the most to tackle, and it’s the one that we can prevent if we catch it early enough.

Being overweight, especially if you carry a lot of your weight around your middle, having high blood pressure, and having close family with the illness, increases your risk of getting diabetes. Age, ethnicity, and your lifestyle can also play a big part. Visit diabetes.org.uk to take their quick and easy online test to see how at risk you might be.

If you are over 40, you can see your GP for a free health check, but even if you are younger and think you might be at high risk, you can still visit them to find out. If you have a high risk of diabetes, you should have a yearly screening.

If your GP is concerned that you might be diabetic, they will organise for you to have a blood test which will be able to show if you are diabetic, but also if you are pre-diabetic.

Pre-diabetes means that your blood glucose is higher than it should be, but you’ve caught things early enough so that with the right changes in lifestyle you can really stop it progressing into full diabetes.

We want to catch as many pre-diabetics as possible so that we can help them to make healthier choices and turn things around before it is too late, so don’t put it off. If you’re at high risk of getting diabetes, make an appointment with your GP today or visit the diabetes.org.uk for help and advice.

Dr Jeff Stoker is a local GP at the Bermuda and Marlowe Practice in Basingstoke, with over 20 years’ experience in the NHS.

Useful links:

Diabetes UK: https://www.diabetes.org.uk/?_ga=2.101115393.1882425255.1553774117-671572666.1552477434

NHS Diabetes Prevention Programme: https://www.england.nhs.uk/diabetes/diabetes-prevention/