THE NUMBER of people in Dorset diagnosed with diabetes is at an all-time high it has been revealed.

Shock new figures show that a further 2,000 people were diagnosed with the condition in 2017, bringing the numbers of people in the county diagnosed with diabetes to nearly 42,000.

In 2016 39,334 Dorset people were recorded as living with Type 1 and Type 2 diabetes. Now just over six people in every hundred have diabetes in the county – a shade under the national average of 6.6 but enough, says Diabetes UK, to cause concern.

The organisation's south west regional head, Annika Palmer, said: “Both Type 1 and Type 2 diabetes are serious conditions that can lead to devastating complications such as amputation, blindness, kidney disease, stroke and heart disease if people don’t receive the right care. Unless we act, and urgently, diabetes prevalence will continue to rise.”

She explained that while Type 1 diabetes isn’t currently preventable, three in five cases of Type 2 diabetes can be prevented or delayed with a healthy lifestyle and better understanding of the condition. “More people who are at high risk of Type 2 diabetes must be identified so that they can get the education, care and support they need to reduce it,” she said.

Britain’s worst diabetes town is Bradford, where one in ten people have the disease - placing incredible strain on health care resources - and the lowest level is in Richmond, West London, said Diabetes UK.

However, with fears that around one million people in the UK are living with undiagnosed diabetes, medics are concerned about a healthcare timebomb, on top of the 24,000 people a year who die of this disease.

With obesity the main cause, Diabetes UK is calling for strong government action to tackle childhood obesity, by introducing stricter restrictions both on junk food advertising to children, and supermarket price promotions for unhealthy foods.

But it is also campaigning for people at high risk of Type 2 diabetes to be identified and referred to the NHS Diabetes Prevention Programme, which supports people to make changes that could prevent the onset of the condition.

“Type 1 diabetes isn’t currently preventable, but three in five cases of Type 2 diabetes can be prevented or delayed with a healthy lifestyle and better understanding of the condition,” said Annika Palmer. “We need to end the marketing of unhealthy food to children and make sure the food all of us eat is healthier. We have to take action now so that we can live in a world where fewer people have diabetes in the future.”