Diabetes, and particularly type 2 diabetes (adult onset), is growing at an astounding rate throughout Europe and the Western world. Here in the United Kingdom more than 2.5 million people have already been diagnosed with diabetes and it is believed that almost another million may remain undiagnosed. In the United States of America nearly 26 million people are known to be diabetic, a deeply worrying 8.3 percent of the population.

When British doctors refer to the diabetes time bomb they most certainly are not kidding. The National Health Service is already creaking under the strain of diabetic health treatment and all the projections agree that the problem is set to become far worse within a relatively short space of time. People with diabetes are twice as likely to be admitted into hospital as non-sufferers, and the presence of diabetic complications increases NHS costs by as many as five times.

An estimated 80,000 hospital bed days each year are the direct result of complications caused by diabetes in Britain alone. Around five percent of people with diabetes in the UK incur social services costs. Around seven percent of all pharmaceutical prescription costs relate to the treatment of the condition and the total annual cost of treatment throughout the United Kingdom has grown to well in excess of half a billion pounds.

Type 2 diabetes occurs either when the body fails to produce enough insulin to enable it to maintain a normal blood glucose level, or when it becomes resistant to the insulin that is produced (insulin resistance).

It is established that there are genetic, environmental and cultural factors that are involved when calculating any individuals risk of becoming diabetic. However it is overwhelmingly the case that those who are overweight and in particular those who are in fact obese are more at risk than those who maintain a healthy body weight. Indeed one report, published in 2005, suggests that an obese person has eighty times more chance of developing diabetes than somebody who is of an average weight.

It is possible, of course, to be extremely overweight and still never develop diabetes. Equally there are some who do become diabetic in spite of being fit and active, eating healthily and not being overweight. Nevertheless the link between obesity and adult onset diabetes is firmly established and the evidence to support it is overwhelming.

The risk of diabetes should be the single biggest motivating factor in persuading someone who is overweight to do something seriously about it. It is, of course, much often easier said than done. A bigger person has a bigger appetite and engaging in any kind of rapid weight loss diet means a radically altered lifestyle which in turn can lead to depression, irritability and even pain. But when one considers that a lifetime of medical treatment and the possibility of serious complications leading to blindness, amputations or even death beckons then it would seem on balance to be the better option.

Some turn to hypnotherapy for weight loss, others have followed more regular disciplines such as adhering to weight loss programmes recommended by others who have used them successfully.

Whatever one decides to do there are many good reasons why those who are seriously overweight or obese should act straight away, and the danger of developing diabetes is right up there with the best of them.