According to recent figures, the National Health Service spends more money treating diabetes than it does on any other disease .
The spend on diabetes was considerably higher, up almost £600 million on last year, and an increase of 7 per cent on 2006 figures. Climbing obesity levels have increased type 2 diabetes rates.
Other costly prescriptions for drugs included obesity, alcoholism, smoking and other ‘lifestyle’ diseases. Experts voice the concern that in spending on things like diabetic health, the NHS is ever-increasingly paying out on diseases that could be preventable – although type 1 diabetes is obviously an exception to this.
A spokesperson for the Department of Health reportedly commented: "Today's health challenges aren't just about treating people who are already experiencing problems. It is about all of us starting to change the way we live, the way we eat and the way we raise our children so we can prevent obesity and related diseases."
Diabetes tops NHS spend
Fri, 01 Aug 2008
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