DIABETES in Oxfordshire is on the rise due to “waistlines going up” putting more strain on the health services.

Nearly five per cent of Oxfordshire’s population, or 27,054 people, now has diabetes, according to new figures.

Statistics released by national charity Diabetes UK show the number diagnosed with the disease shot up by 1,000 in the year to March 2014.

Approximately 900 of the cases related to Type 2 of the condition which doubles a person’s risk of death.

The condition is a metabolic disease in which there are high blood sugar levels over a prolonged period.

Serious long-term complications include cardiovascular disease, stroke, chronic kidney failure, foot ulcers, and damage to the eyes. Type 1 is a lifelong condition where the body does not produce any insulin to control the amount of glucose in the blood. Type 2 is similar but brought on mainly by age as well as poor lifestyle choices – being obese, a lack of exercise and an unhealthy diet.

Diabetes specialist at the Churchill Hospital, Headington, Dr Garry Tan said: “Growing waistlines, inactivity and age are the main causes for an increase in diabetes.”

On average people living with the condition have a reduced life expectancy of between five and 10 years.

In serious cases where the disease is not well monitored or a healthy lifestyle is not maintained by the sufferer, people could suffer kidney failure or have to have foot or leg amputations.

Diabetics are also at a higher risk of suffering from heart disease and strokes.

This week, Diabetes UK is calling on people who are living with diabetes or may be at risk to become more aware of its effects, and ways to combat the disease in everyday life.

Last Thursday the national charity held a Diabetes Awareness Day for Type 2 patients in the county.

Oxfordshire diabetes clinical lead nurse Perdy van der Berg said: “Diabetes is a serious condition that needs to be managed well by the individual with support from their healthcare team.

“The day was designed to give people the tools and confidence to keep their condition under control to help minimise future health complications.”

One of the people who attended the event was Type 2 diabetic Jo Harbour from Faringdon.

The 69-year-old was diagnosed 12 years ago and said that at the time she was “horrified”. She said: “All of my family have been diagnosed with diabetes, so when my two brothers were diagnosed I decided to get a test.

“I was unique because I wasn’t showing any signs, but when I found out I was distraught, dreaming about amputations, blindness. But then I realised that I was in control of the disease.”

The grandmother-of-two has lived well with the disease after losing weight, and now rarely has to check her blood glucose levels.