More than a million people have used Diabetes UK’s online tool which provides information on a person’s risk of developing the condition.
But the majority of the people who have used the assessment are women, the charity said.
The Know Your Risk questionnaire, developed by Diabetes UK, the University of Leicester and the University Hospital of Leicester NHS Trust, uses key information on age, gender, weight, waist measurements and a person’s ethnicity to determine their level of risk.
Helen Dickens, head of prevention at Diabetes UK, said: “We recently reached an incredible milestone of one million completed profiles of our Know Your Risk tool, which gives people the opportunity to go online and check their risk of type 2 diabetes.
“When we analysed who had used the tool we were very interested to see the gender split of users, with a third more women than men going online to find out their risk, despite the fact that men are more at risk of developing the condition. We are therefore particularly calling on men to get online and find out their risk.
“A staggering 11.9 million people in the UK are now at increased risk of developing type 2 diabetes. However the good news is that when an individual knows they are at increased risk they hold the power to keep their risk as low possible by eating well, staying active and maintaining a healthy weight.
“This is why it is so important to get online now to find out your risk of type 2 diabetes and then take any necessary steps to reduce this risk, as not doing so can lead to devastating consequences. Too many people are living with this serious health condition and enduring complications such as amputation, stroke and blindness – a huge human price to pay that could have been avoided.”
The charity urges anyone who finds they are at moderate or high risk of type 2 diabetes to go and speak to their GP or nurse, where further testing can be arranged.
Click here to visit the Know Your Risk online test.
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