Poor people face greater risk of diabetes

According to leading diabetes charity Diabetes UK, the poorest people in the UK face a twice as high risk of developing diabetes, at any age. Furthermore, those who live in the most deprived living situations have twice as much chance of developing complications .
The charity pointed to some of the reasons behind the situation, including obesity, lack of exercise, bad diet and smoking. Diabetes UK experts said that the NHS must prioritise high quality care for everyone, regardless of socioeconomic status.
Diabetes UK chief executive Douglas Smallwood was reported in diabetes news as commenting: “In addition, the NHS must ensure that appropriate, high quality care is available across the country and that everyone, regardless of their socioeconomic status, is accessing it. Research has shown that people with diabetes in deprived or high ethnicity areas are less likely to have key health checks, putting them at increased risk of developing devastating complications such as heart disease, stroke, kidney failure, blindness and amputation . Finally, in these times of economic uncertainty when people are more likely to turn to cheaper, processed foods, food labelling must be clear and consistent to allow people to make informed choices about what they are eating.”