75pc rise in diabetes cases in West Midlands youngsters
The number of youngsters across the West Midlands diagnosed with diabetes has rocketed by 75 per cent in five years.
According to Government figures a total of 140 people aged under 20 were diagnosed with the illness in 2017 – up from 80 in 2013.
The West Midlands has the second highest rate of diabetes diagnoses in the country, behind London. The figures have been branded "truly shocking" by Labour deputy leader Tom Watson, who called for "radical solutions" to reduce young people's sugar intake.
Strategic Clinical Network data also shows a huge spike between 2016 and 2017, the most recent figures available. Between those years the number of cases of diabetes in teenagers rose by 45, the biggest increase in England.
The figures were released to Mr Watson in response to a written parliamentary question to The Department of Health and Social Care.
The West Bromwich East MP told the Star: "We already knew we had a bad obesity and Type 2 diabetes problem in the West Midlands but these new figures about teens contracting the condition are truly shocking.
“These young people could be plagued by tiredness, brain fog, sight problems, and kidney problems all their lives unless they manage to put Type 2 diabetes into remission.
“This crisis is so serious we need radical solutions to change how much sugar is in our food and drink, rules around advertising and the kind of products being sold in food stores on our high streets.”
Diabetes affects around 3.7 million people in the UK, with most cases classed as type 2 diabetes.
The condition is caused by the pancreas not producing enough of the hormone insulin, or the body not reacting to insulin.
Without enough of the hormone, the body struggles to convert sugar in the blood into useable energy.
Across England 980 young people were diagnosed with diabetes in 2017, a rise of 70 per cent over five years.
