One in ten British men has diabetes with 'little being done to tackle the problem'

One in ten men in the UK has diabetes, which is often due to obesity and a lack of awareness that they are overweight, according to the Men’s Health Forum.

The report ‘One In Ten: The Male Diabetes Crisis’ has revealed that men are more likely to develop the disease than women and more than twice as likely to have a major amputation. They are also more likely to die as a result of the disease.

In addition, men are 26 per cent more likely to develop Type 2 diabetes than women – with Public Health England estimates showing that 9.6 per cent of men have Type 1 or Type 2 diabetes compared to 7.6 per cent of women.

The reason for this is that men are more likely to be overweight with a BMI (body mass index) of over 25 and they also develop diabetes at a lower BMI than women. This is coupled with the fact that they are less likely to be aware that they are overweight or to join weight management programmes.

Martin Tod, chief executive of the Men’s Health Forum said: “Diabetes is hitting men especially hard, but too little is being done to understand the problem and tackle the problem. The Men’s Health Forum wants to see a serious programme of research and investment to ensure men get the support and care they need to prevent and manage diabetes.

“The toxic combination of ever more men being overweight, men getting diabetes at a lower BMI and health services that don’t work well enough for working age men is leading to a crisis. We need urgent action.”

The charity also revealed that men are more likely to suffer from diabetic retinopathy, foot ulcers and to have a foot amputation. Seventy per cent of those with a foot ulcer are men.

It would like to see health policymakers and practitioners targeting men with NHS Health Checks, routine eye tests, weight management programmes and Diabetes Education programmes.

The National Diabetes Prevention Programme must be designed and delivered in ways that work for men, said the report.

Peter Baker, Men’s Health Forum Associate and the report author, added “Diabetes has been described as a national health emergency but the burden of the disease on men has not been fully recognised or responded to by health policymakers and practitioners. What’s now urgently needed is an approach that takes full account of sex and gender differences so that both men and women’s outcomes can be improved.”

You can read the report here