A new report has suggested that an estimated seven million people in the UK have blood glucose levels higher than normal, but not high enough to be classed as having diabetes.
The condition called Impaired Glucose Regulation (IGR) puts people up to 15 times more likely to develop type 2 diabetes, say the charity Diabetes UK.
According to the report, recent research has shown ‘prediabetes’ may already be causing long-term damage to the body, especially the heart and circulatory system.
Crucially the report suggests that ‘prediabetes’ can often be reversed and the risk of developing type 2 diabetes reduced by 60 percent simply by losing weight, adopting a healthy balanced diet and increasing physical activity.
If you are white and over 40 years old, or if you’re black or South Asian and over 25 years old and have one or more of the following risk factors, then you may be at risk of IGR (and Type 2 diabetes):
- A parent or sibling having been diagnosed with the condition
- Being overweight and having a high waist measurement
- High blood pressure, or having had a heart attack or stroke
- Being a woman with polycystic ovary syndrome and being overweight
- Being a woman who has had gestational diabetes
- Having severe mental health problems
The more risk factors that apply, the greater the risk of ‘prediabetes’. If you are concerned about 'prediabetes' and you have two or more risk factors, contact your GP or healthcare professional for advice.
The total number of people with diabetes in the UK now stands at 2.6 million.