THERE has been a “shocking rise” in the number of patients diagnosed with diabetes and classed as obese since last year, figures show.

In the North-East, cases of diabetes have increased by more than 7,000 to 121,685. In Yorkshire and the Humber, the number rose by 11,000 to 236,711, Diabetes UK said.

The charity is calling on the Government to put into practice its “rhetoric” on tackling health problems through prevention.

The research indicates one in 20 people is being treated for diabetes nationally and almost one in ten for obesity.

The data, collected from GP practices, also show the number of people registered as obese in the North-East has escalated to 289,991, an increase of more than 21,000.

In Yorkshire and Humber, the increase was more than 25,000.

Type 2 diabetes, which the vast majority of sufferers have, is strongly linked to being overweight or obese, the charity said.

About 90 per cent of diabetics – 2.5 million people in England – have the Type 2 condition.

Linda Wood, the regional manager for Diabetes UK, said: “Once again, we see a shocking rise in diabetes and obesity rates across the North-East and Yorkshire and the Humber.

“Many, but not all, people develop Type 2 diabetes because they are overweight or obese. We must keep up the mantra of ‘five fruit and veg a day’, encourage daily physical activity, and warn of the potentially devastating consequences of an unhealthy lifestyle.

“The obesity-fuelled Type 2 diabetes epidemic is a clear example of where the new coalition Government’s rhetoric of tackling health problems through prevention must be turned into action.

“Failure to act now means a bleak future of spiralling NHS costs and worsening public health.

“Diabetes is serious. If not diagnosed early or poorly managed, it can result in blindness and amputation or a shortened life expectancy from heart disease, stroke and kidney failure.”

The main factors for developing Type 2 diabetes are being overweight, being aged over 40, or over 25 for black and south Asian people, and having a close relative with diabetes.