Diabetes in Cornwall shows worrying rise

The number of people suffering from diabetes in Cornwall is showing a worrying rise, as well as having a dramatic impact on healthcare costs in the county, according to the NHS. It was found that the almost 25,000 people in Cornwall and the Scilly Isles have developed the metabolic condition, and that treatment costs for diabetes in the region now comprises about 8.4 per cent of the budget for drugs.
The Cornwall and Isles of Scilly NHS have admitted that around 85 per cent of these are suffering from type 2 diabetes, and that the cost of treatment has gone up by a quarter in the last four years, now amounting to GBP7 million. It was also found that nearly a third of local adult patients measured during the previous year had a BMI greater than 30, suggesting that they are obese.
Findings from the Public Health Observatories of England has revealed that the number of diabetes patients in Cornwall increased by over 2,000 in a year, from 21,715 to 23,841, and there are concerns about the potential risks in the future due to the rising number of children who are obese.
Caroline Dunsta, lead diabetes specialist for Cornwall and the Isles of Scilly NHS, commented “Prioritising a good diet and regular physical activity is a lifestyle change that we need to embrace rather than see as a chore.”
She added “We need to consciously review what we eat and prevent even more people from unnecessarily developing this life-changing disease.”