The number of people under 40 in the UK being diagnosed with type 2 diabetes has risen 39% in six years, fuelled by soaring obesity levels and cheap junk food.
Britain has one of the highest obesity rates in Europe, with two in three adults overweight or obese and the NHS spending £6bn a year treating obesity-related ill-health-forecast to reach £10bn a year by 2050.
The new figures from Diabetes UK show cases of type 2 diabetes among under-40s have increased to almost 168,000 from 120,000 in 2016/17.
Diagnoses are rising at a significantly faster pace than among older people, with a 39% rise in six years, compared with 25% for over 40s.
The Guardian recently exposed how ministers had been warned they were putting children and young people at risk of life-changing medical conditions, including type 2 diabetes, because they had shelved policies to tackle obesity and junk food until 2025.
Many of the measures promised in the 2020 national food strategy have been ditched, watered down or kicked into the long grass.
The chief executive of Diabetes UK, Colette Marshall, told the Guardian the uptick in type 2 diabetes among children and young adults was "alarming" and called on ministers to urgently address the crisis. Labour said the figures were an "outrage".
"Drastic changes to the environments we live in and the food we eat over the last 25 years are taking a toll on our health," said Marshall.
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