HUNDREDS more people have been diagnosed with diabetes in Bolton in the last year.

Nearly 400 people more have the condition taking the total in the town to an estimated 17,588, up from 17,170 last year. It is projected that 9.2 per cent of people in the town will have diabetes by 2020, a rise that is expected to comprise mainly of new cases of Type 2 diabetes, which already accounts for about 90 per cent of cases nationally.

Risk factors include being overweight; having a large waist; being over 40, or over 25 if you are from a South Asian background; or having a close family member with diabetes.

Julie Byron, Diabetes UK’s regional manager for the North West, said: “It is alarming that the number of people with diabetes in Bolton has gone up by 388 in a single year and addressing this situation needs to be one of the top health priorities in the area.

“Given that the increase in diabetes cases is mainly due to a sharp rise in Type 2 diabetes, we need to get much better at preventing cases of Type 2.”