DRAGON’S Den star Sara Davies has spoken of her fear of type 2 diabetes after being told she is ‘high risk’.
The 40-year-old said she was “borderline” early-onset diabetic after having a blood test last year, but has since taken action.
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Early-onset diabetes is a term for diabetes that occurs in people under the age of 40.
Type 2 diabetes happens when the body doesn’t produce enough insulin or cells don’t react to insulin.
This causes glucose (sugar) to build up in the blood instead of being used for energy.
Being overweight or obese, especially around the waist, can make the body resistant to insulin.
Businesswoman Sara told Prima: “I had gestational diabetes in both my pregnancies, which meant that I’m at a higher risk of type 2 diabetes in later life.”
The owner of arts and crafts supply company Crafter’s Companion dropped three dress sizes last year by “cutting out sugar”, chocolate, cake and fruit and fruit juice and cutting down her alcohol intake.
She had initially lost weight when she appeared on Strictly Come Dancing in 2021, when she was “on top” of being at a “higher risk of type two diabetes in later life”.
Sara, who was eliminated in week eight of the 19th series of the BBC dancing show, said: “I was running a lot and eating well, all because I was in a routine, so I got in great shape.”
But since the show ended she saw weight creep back on and her glucose levels went back up.
After Strictly finished the star “lost the routine and motivation” and went “back downhill”.
“I saw the weight pile back on, which for me is a problem,” Sara said.
“I need to get my BMI comfortably under 30 to be healthy.”
Every year on her birthday, Sara gets her HbA1C checked, saying: “This tells me how close my blood sugar levels are to early-onset diabetes.
“And last year, my HbA1C was right on the borderline.”
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According to Diabetes UK, an HbA1c measures your “average blood glucose levels for the last two to three months”.
If it is in the higher end then a person can develop diabetes-related issues in their eyes and feet.
Healthcare professionals can advise patients who could be edging towards pre-diabetes on how to change their lifestyle, and keep glucose in target levels, the charity said.
According to Diabetes UK, the nine most common warning signs of the condition include:
- Tiredness
- Peeing more often
- Frequent thirst
- Itchy skin
- Blurred vision
- Slow healing of cuts and wounds
- Tingling, numbness, or pain in the hands or feet
- Patches of darker skin
- Itching and yeast infections
‘Cutting sugar’
Sarah went on to describe herself as a “yo-yo dieter” and explained she had thought about losing weight before joining Dragon’s Den in 2019 – but then decided she was “happy with how I look”.
Sarah added: “I’m a big personality and I’m no different when I’m three dress sizes smaller – it really doesn’t bother me at all.
“What does bother me is the health side of it.”
She went from a size 16 to a size 12 and said that people want a “magic bullet” for weight loss, but pointed to “lifestyle changes” being better.
Type 1 vs type 2 diabetes
There are two main types of diabetes, which causes a person’s blood sugar level to become too high.
There are two main types of diabetes, which cause a person’s blood sugar level to become too high.
Type 1 diabetes is a lifelong condition where the body’s immune system attacks and destroys the cells that produce the hormone insulin.
It affects around 344,000 people in the UK.
Type 2 diabetes on the other hand is far more common, accounting for more than 90 per cent of the 4.4million adults with diabetes.
It occurs when the body doesn’t produce enough insulin, or the body’s cells don’t react to it properly.
There are no lifestyle changes you can make to lower your risk of type 1 diabetes.
But you may be at higher risk of type 2 diabetes if you are overweight or obese, eat unhealthily, have a family history of the condition, take certain medications for a long time, have high blood pressure, and have had gestational diabetes during pregnancy.
People of Asian, Black African or African Caribbean origin are also at increased risk.
Source: NHS and Diabetes UK
The full interview with Davies is available in the December 2024 issue of Prima, which is now on sale.
Early-onset diabetes on the rise
Globally, the International Diabetes Federation estimates more than 75million people aged 20-39 live with type 2 diabetes.
In 2021-22, there were 139,255 people under 40 with type 2 diabetes in England and Wales, which is 4.8 per cent of all type 2 diabetes cases under 80.
This is an 18.7 per cent increase since 2017-18, which is steeper than the 11.3 per cent increase for those aged 40–79.
Between 2016-17 and 2022-23, the number of people under 40 diagnosed with type 2 diabetes in the UK increased by 40 per cent.
This is a faster rate of increase than among people over 40.
How to lower your risk of type 2 diabetes
According to Diabetes UK, there are a few diet tweaks you can make to lower your risk of type 2 diabetes:
- Choose drinks without added sugar – skip out the sugar in your tea and coffee and stay away from fizzy and energy drinks
- Eat whole grains such as brown rice, wholewheat pasta, wholemeal flour, wholegrain bread and oats instead of refined carbs
- Cut down on red and processed meat like bacon, ham, sausages, pork, beef and lamb
- Eat plenty of fruit and veg – apples, grapes, berries, and green leafy veg such as spinach, kale, watercress, and rocket have been associated with reduced risk of type 2 diabetes
- Have unsweetened yoghurt and cheese
- Cut down on booze – and have a few days a week with none at all
- Have healthy snacks like unsweetened yoghurt, unsalted nuts, seeds and fruit and veg
- Eat healthy fats included in nuts, seeds, avocados and olive oil
- Cut down on salt
- Get your vitamins and minerals from food instead of tablets
