TEENAGERS in Ludlow are being diagnosed with a condition once largely confined to the middle-aged and elderly.

A GP in the town has revealed the shocking news that teenagers and young people in their early 20s are suffering from a condition that is almost entirely preventable.

Dr Caron Morton said that incidence of very young people with type two diabetes is almost entirely down to lifestyle.

But she also points out that this is not the same as type one diabetes that can be found in the very young and babies and is not related to how people live their lives.

“There was a time when as doctors we saw type one diabetes in children and type two in people over 45,” Dr Morton said.

“But we are now seeing it in much younger people which is very worrying.”

However, the number of cases being diagnosed may be the tip of the iceberg as some people may be living with diabetes without knowing it.

Symptoms can be vague such as thirst, frequent urination and tiredness.

But the condition in which the pancreas cannot breakdown sugar effectively can be very harmful including causing problems for the heart and kidneys, causing blindness and leading to limb amputations. This is as a result of irreversible damage to nerve endings.

Dr Morton said that while there can be a hereditary predisposition to type two diabetes, it is the way that we live our lives that is the biggest factor.

“Eating too much of the wrong food and a sedentary life style with too little exercise are big factors,” she said.

She said it was harmful that so many children get taken to school in a car instead of walking and sitting in front of television and computer screens instead of playing outside also does not help.

When diabetes is diagnosed with a blood test, Dr Morton said that it can usually be effectively controlled. In some cases this required drugs but it others a change in diet and lifestyle could do the trick.

Normally, someone with controlled diabetes can lead a normal life.

Her message is that if anyone suspects they may have diabetes it is best to consult the doctor.

But the one-time head of the Shropshire Clinical Commissioning Group, who has returned to full time general practice, said that doctors in Ludlow have a heavy case load.

However, she does not believe that a large number of limited appointments are being taken up by ‘the worried well’ who are frightened by all the health messages.

“In my experience between 80 and 90 percent of the people who come into my consulting room are unwell in one way or another,” said Dr Morton.

“If someone is worried it is always better to get it checked out than to leave the problem,” said Dr Morton, who is involved with colleagues in health prevention activities including making regular visits to talk to students at schools in and around Ludlow.