It is an honour to serve under your chairmanship, Mr Pritchard. I, too, congratulate my hon. Friend the Member for Dewsbury (Paula Sherriff) on securing this debate on diabetes-related complications. Diabetes is a huge public health issue in highly developed countries such as ours, and the complications of diabetes if left unchecked can be life-changing and, ultimately, fatal.
Approximately 4 million people live with diabetes in the UK—that is one in 16 of us—and more than half a million of those are undiagnosed and unaware that they have a potentially life-threatening condition. About 700 people are diagnosed with diabetes every day and it is estimated that, by 2025, 5 million people will have the disease.
Although we are not quite sure what causes type 1 diabetes, which affects approximately 10% of those with the disease, we know that the far more common type 2 diabetes can be caused by lifestyle factors. In 2014, Public Health England said that 90% of adults with type 2 diabetes are overweight and obese, and that men are five times more likely to develop type 2 diabetes if they have a waistline of more than 40.2 inches, while women with a waistline of more than 34.7 inches are three times more likely to develop the disease.
The link between unhealthy lifestyles and a higher risk of diabetes is clear and very well established. Is it any wonder that diabetes is on the rise when it is easier to live a sedentary lifestyle and eat unhealthily? We have more temptations, in terms of food, than ever before. The principle that prevention is always better than cure is particularly apt when we are thinking about diabetes and the serious complications that can arise from the disease.
In the first instance, it is imperative that everything that can be done is done to ensure that children and young people who have not yet developed the disease or become overweight are encouraged to lead healthy lifestyles. Schools have a very important part to play in that. They must ensure that pupils and parents are made aware of diabetes, including the causes of the disease and what might happen if they develop it. Sport in school is a fantastic way to get young people active, yet a University College London study in 2013 found that, of the 6,500 seven-year-olds included in the study, only 51% achieved the recommended hour of physical activity every day. That situation simply has to improve.
Although physical education lessons in schools often focus on competitive sports such as football, hockey, rugby and netball, they should also put emphasis on general fitness training. Schools should also be given the tools and resources that they need to encourage after-school sports clubs in addition to community-run sports clubs. The Rhymney Valley athletics club, based in my constituency, is a fantastic example of a community-run sports club for children and young people. On the occasions when I have had the opportunity to visit it, I have always been impressed by the enthusiasm of the coaches and the positive atmosphere that they create, which is impressed on the children. The number of children taking part is growing quickly, simply because they enjoy going. Whether they know it or not, by taking part in physical activity, they will be reducing their risk of type 2 diabetes and, more importantly, having fun along the way.
However, parents must bear much of the responsibility for ensuring that children lead a healthy and active lifestyle. It may be easier for parents to allow children and teenagers to eat sugary, high-fat treats with low nutritional value, as well as drink sugary pop, but that puts their health at risk in the long term. The new tax on high-sugar drinks that was announced in March is a welcome step in the direction of tackling child obesity, and I hope that parents will take the message on board by encouraging children and teenagers to drink and eat more healthily. One of the most important skills taught to me by my mother was the ability to cook my own food—not to rely on ready meals, a takeaway or the fish shop, but to go home of a night and make myself a meal.
If young people do not develop a healthy lifestyle while they are at school, it is reasonable to expect that they will find it much harder to do so once they have left. If we make a serious effort to point children in a healthy direction from an early age, we will give them the best possible chance to avoid becoming overweight. It follows that, if they do not become overweight, they are less likely to develop diabetes and, as a result, less likely to suffer health complications caused by the disease.
Adult obesity in the United Kingdom is showing a sustained upwards trend. By 2014, more than 28% of adults were considered clinically obese, and that is expected to rise to one third by 2020. Overall, 62% of adults in the UK—a significant majority—are classed as overweight or obese. That is the third highest level in western Europe, and it is not a league table we particularly want to be at the top of. It is clear that, if we are to tackle excess weight and obesity to tackle diabetes, radical public action must be taken to reduce the UK’s average waistline.
A key reason for increasingly sedentary lifestyles is the rapid growth of office and desk work during the past few decades. Employees stuck behind a computer screen for most of the day do not get the opportunity to exercise, which we know is vital to maintaining a healthy weight. Perhaps great benefit would be gained if employers were incentivised to incorporate physical activity into office work or to set aside time during the working day for the desk-bound to exercise. The expansion of accessible after-work exercise clubs for all would also be a huge and radical step forward.
Incentives should be given for healthy eating. When living on a budget, as so many people are, it is often cheaper to eat unhealthily than healthily. That extraordinary situation must be turned on its head. Equally, disincentives such as the sugar tax should be used to discourage unhealthy eating. Only once we as a country have truly got to grips with our weight and obesity problem will we be able to prevent the very serious health complications caused by diabetes.
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