How diabetes affects more people than cancer and dementia combined

One in 15 people live with diabetes – that’s 4.7 million people in the UK and is far more than cancer and dementia combined.

This also includes one million people who do not even know they have diabetes.

As part of Diabetes Week, Diabetes UK wants to increase people's understanding of the condition and help tackle the stigma many people with all types of diabetes feel.

Type 1 and Type 2 are the two main types of diabetes but there are also rarer types. What they all have in common is they raise sugar levels in the blood which can seriously damage the body.

Some things can increase the risk of developing diabetes, from genetics and ethnic background to gender, age and lifestyle factors.

You’re more at risk if you are white and over 40, or over 25 if you’re African-Caribbean, Black African, or South Asian.