Charity urges ministers to fix ‘broken food environment’ as surge in type 2 diabetes drives record number of diagnoses

One in five adults in the UK are now living with diabetes or pre-diabetes, according to “alarming” data that exposes the impact of soaring obesity levels, increasingly unhealthy diets and a “broken” food environment.

In total, 12.2 million people are affected, the data analysis from Diabetes UK shows, including 4.6 million with diagnosed diabetes, 1.3 million with undiagnosed diabetes, and 6.3 million with non-diabetic hyperglycaemia, also known as pre-diabetes. It is the highest total ever recorded.