Adults with a larger waist size are up to five times more at risk of developing type 2 diabetes, according to a new analysis.
Public Health England (PHE) has released a report containing new analysis showing that men who have a large waist circumference of over 40.2 inches are 5 times more likely to develop type 2 diabetes.
Women with a large waist circumference of over 34.7 inches are 3 times more likely to develop type 2 diabetes, the report said.
Currently 90 per cent of adults with type 2 diabetes are overweight or obese and the prevalence of both obesity and diabetes are on the increase, researchers said.
Diabetes is a serious public health issue; by 2030 the total number of adults with all types of diabetes is projected to rise to 4.6 million or 9.5 per cent of the adult population in the UK, researchers said.
Being overweight or obese is the main avoidable risk factor for type 2 diabetes.
People from Black, South Asian and other minority ethnic groups tend to develop type 2 diabetes up to a decade earlier than white European populations, and develop it at a lower body mass index, experts said.
In addition deprivation is closely linked to the risk of both obesity and diabetes, with type 2 diabetes being 40 per cent more common among people in the poorest communities compared with those in the richest.
"Type 2 diabetes is a very serious public health issue which can have significant consequences, such as limb amputations or blindness. The key to reducing diabetes is losing weight which can be achieved through a healthy diet and being more active," Dr Alison Tedstone, Chief Nutritionist at PHE, said.
