An estimated seven million people in the UK have early warning signs of diabetes, researchers warned today.

The condition – called prediabetes – means their blood sugar is higher than normal and makes them up to 15 times more likely to develop full blown Type 2 diabetes, charity Diabetes UK said.

Many of those at risk are overweight or obese, have a family history of prediabetes or have high blood pressure and cholesterol.

The charity said prediabetes could be countered by losing weight, upping physical activity levels and adopting a healthier diet. This in turn reduces the risk of developing the full-blown version by 60%.

Recent figures show that more than 145,000 new cases of mainly Type 2 diabetes were diagnosed in the past year, bringing the total number of people with diabetes in the UK to 2.6 million.

Diabetes UK chief executive Douglas Smallwood is calling on people to be more aware of their health.

He said: “It’s staggering that seven million people in the UK have prediabetes, which is often a precursor to Type 2 diabetes, a serious condition which can lead to long term complications such as heart disease, stroke, kidney failure, amputation and blindness.

“Identifying and educating people with prediabetes is vital as it’s not too late for many to make healthy lifestyle changes, reverse the condition completely and reduce their risk of developing type 2 diabetes.”

Diabetes is where the body produces too much blood sugar.

Type 1 usually develops in childhood and sees sufferers requiring insulin injections as soon as they are diagnosed.

Type 2 is linked to obesity and inactive lifestyles and managed by diet, drugs or insulin injections.

if you want to know more head to http://www.diabetes.co.uk/

Tomorrow i’ll follow up with some more articles on Diabetes..

US researchers proved [times and times again] that eating breakfast is the secret to staying healthy.

Dr Mark Pereira and colleagues at Harvard Medical School analyzed the eating habits of 1,198 black people and 1,633 white participants.

Their study found that people who eat whole-grain cereals every morning are among those most likely to see the health benefits.

Health benefits discovered

They found that people who ate breakfast every day were a third less likely to be obese compared to those who skipped the meal.

In addition, eating breakfast will make you half as likely to have blood-sugar problems, which increase the risk of developing diabetes or having high cholesterol, which is a known risk factor for heart disease.

Eating first thing in the morning will help to stabilize blood sugar levels, which regulate appetite and energy.

The study also suggests that eating breakfast makes you less hungry during the rest of the day and are, therefore, less likely to overeat.

UK evidence

The British Dietetic Association said the findings added to the growing body of evidence in support of eating breakfast every morning.

“There is a lot of scientific evidence behind this,” spokeswoman Catherine Collins told.

“Obviously the traditional fry-up is too fat and calorie rich to aid weight control, but cereals and toast are of benefit.

“Breakfast can be a very good source of vitamins. Many processed cereals are fortified with vitamins and minerals which people can find it difficult to get elsewhere if they are just having two meals a day.”