What is diabetes?
Diabetes is a condition where the amount of glucose in your blood is too high because the body cannot use it properly. This is caused by your pancreas being unable to produce enough insulin, or the insulin that is produced not working properly. There are more than 2 million people who have been diagnosed with diabetes and around 750,000 more people who don’t realise that they have it. The numbers are rising rapidly.
More than three-quarters of people with diabetes have type 2. This used to be known as non-insulin dependent diabetes mellitus (NIDDM) or maturity-onset diabetes mellitus. The number of people with type 2 diabetes is rapidly increasing as it is more common in the overweight and obese, which is itself a growing problem.
The remainder have type 1 diabetes mellitus, which used to be known as insulin-dependent diabetes mellitus. Type 1 diabetes usually starts in childhood or young adulthood.
If you are concerned that you may be at risk of developing Type 2 Diabetes then you can complete the Type 2 Diabetes Self-Assessment Tool available on the NHS Choices website.
The rising risk of diabetes
There are currently 5 million people in England at high risk of developing Type 2 diabetes.
Public Health England estimates that there are 29,872 residents in Bromley currently at risk of developing diabetes (11.5% of the adult population).
This is slightly higher than the rate for England (11.4%). One in six inpatients in hospital has diabetes.
If current trends persist, one in three people will be obese by 2034 and one in ten will develop Type 2 diabetes. However, evidence exists which shows that many cases of Type 2 diabetes are preventable.
Diabetes prevention in Bromley
Bromley has joined with the other boroughs in South London to be a first wave site for the NHS Diabetes Prevention Programme.
The NHS Diabetes Prevention Programme (NHS DPP) called a ‘Healthier You’ will be rolled out nationally across the next four years. The NHS DPP is a joint commitment from NHS England, Public Health England and Diabetes UK.
People found to be at high risk of diabetes by their GP or at NHS Health Check will be offered the option of joining the NHS Diabetes Prevention Programme. This will involve attendance at a minimum of 13 sessions over a period of at least 9 months. The programme supports people to get back towards a healthier weight and to become more active, as this will prevent the development of diabetes.
To learn more about the programme, please watch this video
Make small changes to your lifestyle to live healthier
Preventing diabetes by improving NHS Health Checks in Bromley
Learn about the how the National Diabetes Prevention Programme is working in Bromley - and see the difference it has already made to Karen's life.
Annual Public Health Report 2017 – Type 2 Diabetes
All Directors of Public Health produce an Annual Public Health Report (APHR) to raise the profile of emerging health issues or to highlight an area of particular interest to a wide variety of audiences.