Author: Sophie

A report published in October 2008, by Diabetes UK, stated that diabetes is one of the biggest challenges facing the NHS today. There are currently 2.3 million people diagnosed in the UK with the condition and 500,000 who have Type 2 diabetes but are unaware of it. Approximately 10% of NHS spending goes on diabetes, that’s £9 billion a year or £1 million an hour or £10,000 per minute treating diabetes and its complications. Shockingly, 300 people are diagnosed with diabetes every day. That’s one every 5 minutes.

Diabetes is a hormone related disease which can cause thinning hair or hair loss. There may be other reasons behind hair loss so it is important to get an accurate diagnosis from a doctor or hair specialist. If you are losing hair and have not been diagnosed with diabetes, you may want to check for other symptoms of diabetes such as feeling very thirsty, producing excessive amounts of urine, tiredness, weight loss and muscle wasting. Both Type 1 and Type 2 are serious and can lead to heart disease, strokes, amputations, kidney failure and blindness. Type 2 can remain undetected for 10 years or more.

With an aging population and more people becoming overweight and obese, numbers of Type 2 diabetes will increase sharply. It is estimated that by 2025 there will be more than 4 million with diabetes in the UK equivalent to a 46% increase. Douglas Smallwood, Chief Executive of Diabetes UK, said: “These new figures are shocking and confirm that diabetes is one of the main health challenges facing the UK today. Awareness and prevention are crucial if we want to see the number of people with Type 2 diabetes fall”.

But could the current recession be making the problem worse? In these hard economic times, the sweet business is seeing growth. It may be because of recession that more people are staying in and turning to treats to comfort them. Earlier this month the Daily Mail reported that Cadbury’s has seen a 12% increase in UK sales of chocolates and confectionary over the first half of 2009.

More sweets means more people putting on weight, unless action is taken action to prevent this – ie. exercise. However as there are also reports that state we are working longer hours as the recession kicks in, one wonders where we will find the time to work off those extra Mars Bars.

While diabetes is not caused by eating too many sweets, eating a diet high in unhealthy fats and sugar can cause you to become overweight, which increases your risk of developing Type 2 diabetes. 80% of people diagnosed with Type 2 diabetes are overweight at the time of diagnosis.

If you are suffering hair loss as a result of diabetes you may be able to manage it with FDA-approved hair loss treatments. To find out whether these treatments could be of benefit to you, please book a consultation with one of our qualified advisors by calling 020 7730 6666 or message the clinic. Alternatively, you can complete the online diagnostic form for a consultation via the website.

More Information:

Hair Loss in Men

Hair Loss in Women

Hair Growth Success Stories

Hair Loss Video Diary

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Diabetes Can Lead to Hair Loss

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Foods That Can Lead to Hair Loss