Dr Max Pemberton warns that type 2 diabetes, long seen as a disease of later life, is rising sharply among young women, with symptoms often mistaken for stress or tiredness. He highlights new figures showing significant increases in diagnoses among people in their 20s, urging women in particular to recognise the early warning signs before serious complications develop.

Imperial College London analysed NHS data from 2011 to 2024 and found a 69 per cent rise in new type 2 diagnoses among women aged 20-29, compared with a 43 per cent rise in men of the same age. Pemberton notes that a diagnosis at 25 means decades of exposure to raised blood sugar, which can quietly damage the eyes, kidneys, nerves and heart; Diabetes UK estimates the condition contributes to 184 amputations, over 1,010 strokes, 700 heart attacks and 3,340 cases of heart failure weekly in the UK. Key symptoms to watch for include persistent thirst, frequent urination, unexplained tiredness, blurred vision, slow-healing cuts, and recurrent thrush or urinary infections, with polycystic ovary syndrome, gestational diabetes, obesity and lifestyle factors all raising risk in this age group.