CONCERNS have been raised over a significant increase in the number of local residents diagnosed with type 2 diabetes.

Latest figures show cases of the disease in Greater Glasgow and Clyde, which includes Renfrewshire and East Renfrewshire, rocketed by 26 per cent over the past decade.

Instances of type 2, where the body’s insulin doesn’t work properly, rose from 45,639 in 2008 to 57,713 in 2018. It is often linked to being overweight or inactive or having a family history of the condition.

By contrast, cases of type 1 diabetes, where the body doesn’t produce insulin at all, only went up by 3.8 per cent in a decade, to 6,592 across the health board area.

Diabetes Scotland has warned there could also be many more local people living with type 2 who have yet to be diagnosed.

Angela Mitchell, the charity’s national director, said: “Type 2 diabetes is an urgent public health crisis and solving it depends on decisive action led by both the UK and Scottish Governments, supported by industry and delivered across our society.

“We must create healthy environments which support people to make healthy choices. This includes mandating industry to make food and drinks healthier and addressing the marketing and promotion of unhealthy foods.”

She added: “Almost two-thirds of the Scottish population is overweight, putting people at increased risk of developing type 2 diabetes.

“More than half of all cases of type 2 diabetes – and the accompanying risk of developing devastating complications – could be prevented or delayed if people are supported to maintain a healthy weight.”

People with type 2 diabetes are 50 per cent more likely to die prematurely than those without the condition.