Nearly 200 type 2 diabetes patients lose their eyesight or limbs every single day
NEARLY 200 type 2 diabetes patients a day are going blind or losing limbs, NHS figures show.
Health chief Simon Stevens today warns the nation’s expanding waistlines are “taking a growing toll”.
One person every three minutes is now diagnosed with type 2.
It is one of the leading causes of blindness, amputation, impotence and heart disease.
Surgeons are carrying out a record 25 amputations daily on type 2 diabetics.
Four out of five will die within five years of having a leg, foot or toe removed.
A further 161 a day require urgent treatment or follow-up tests for sight problems triggered by type 2 diabetes.
But NHS chiefs claim the vast majority of cases could be avoided if the patients lost some excess weight.
NHS England chief executive Mr Stevens backs The Sun’s revolutionary eating plan aimed at combating type 2.
It launches in tomorrow’s paper — telling Brits diabetes can be reversed. He calls obesity “one of the greatest health challenges of our time”.
Tam Fry, of the National Obesity Forum, wants regular weight checks to help Brits keep trim.
What is type 2 diabetes?
Type 2 diabetes is the more common form of the disease - accounting for between 85 and 95 per cent of all cases, according to .
It develops when the insulin-producing cells in the body are unable to produce enough insulin.
It can also be triggered when the insulin that is produced doesn't work properly.
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He said: “The key message is that the majority of these cases are preventable.
“What riles me is that zoo animals get an annual check-up, and we have to take our cars for an MoT.
"But regular checks for people, forget it.”
War on obesity
By Simon Stevens, NHS England Chief Executive
OUR ever-expanding waistlines are taking a growing toll.
Obesity is one of the greatest health challenges of our time. Hundreds of thousands a year get type 2 diabetes.
It is largely preventable. Research shows type 2 can sometimes even be reversed.
The Sun is right to say small lifestyle changes can add up to a big difference.
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