Category Archives: Diabetes

Tax unhealthy foods to tackle obesity, say campaigners

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Health and children’s groups urge UK ministers to impose levies on products containing too much salt or sugar

Dozens of health and children’s groups have urged ministers to tackle obesity by imposing taxes on foods containing too much salt or sugar.

New levies based on the sugar tax on soft drinks would make it easier for consumers to eat more healthily by forcing food manufacturers to reformulate their products, they claim.

74% think food firms are not honest about the health impact of their products.

61% worry about the amount of sugar and saturated fat in what they eat.

Only 13% believe producers will make their food more nutritious without government intervention.

72% worry about high levels of processing used in food production.

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Healthier rice variety could counter rise in diabetes, Philippine scientists say

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Researchers develop grain with lower glycaemic index and more protein that ‘could have big impact in Asia and Africa’

Scientists in the Philippines have created a new variety of rice that could help reduce the growing burden of diabetes.

More than 537 million adults worldwide are living with the chronic disease – a number that is expected to grow to 783 million by 2045. Being overweight, genetics and a lack of exercise contribute to type 2 diabetes, which is the most common form. Type 2 occurs when the pancreas fails to produce enough of the insulin hormone, leaving too much glucose in the blood, and cells develop a resistance to insulin.

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Global health charities warn of ‘huge and terrible’ threat to abortion rights if Trump returns

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‘Global gag rule’ and funding cuts will be ‘on different scale’ if Republicans win again, family-planning providers say

Providers of women’s healthcare around the world are preparing for potentially disastrous consequences should Donald Trump win the US presidential election in November.

Policies pursued during Trump’s last presidency caused “devastating” harm in a number of countries, said Beth Schlachter, a senior director at MSI Reproductive Choices in the US. It meant “clinics shuttered, health teams closed, women dying … but a second Trump term will be on a different scale”.

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Novo Nordisk cuts profit outlook after weaker sales of weight-loss drug Wegovy

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Danish company, which also makes Ozempic, faces increasing competition from US rival Eli Lilly

Novo Nordisk has cut its annual profit expectations after posting weaker-than-expected sales of its weight-loss drug Wegovy, fuelling investor concerns over growing competition and sending its shares lower.

The Danish drugmaker’s market value has soared over the past year, making it the most valuable company in Europe, on the back of the success of its obesity and diabetes injections Wegovy and Ozempic, used by celebrities including Elon Musk and Oprah Winfrey. However, the company is facing increasing competition from its US rival Eli Lilly’s drugs Zepbound and Mounjaro.

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NHS ‘soup and shake’ diet puts almost a third of type 2 diabetes cases in remission

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Programme may soon be expanded in England after study finds ‘life-changing benefits’ of meal replacement scheme

Tens of thousands more people in England living with type 2 diabetes could be offered an 800-calorie-a-day “soup and shake” diet after research found almost one in three on the groundbreaking NHS scheme permanently wiped out their disease.

Patients are given low-calorie meal replacement products such as soups, milkshakes and snack bars for three months, triggering rapid weight loss, before getting support to reintroduce normal food into their diet.

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Pregnant women should be tested for diabetes far earlier, study suggests

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Women should be tested for gestational diabetes before 14 weeks, say academics

Pregnant women should be tested for diabetes much earlier than the current practice of doing so between 24 and 28 weeks, according to research.

Gestational diabetes, a form of the condition that only develops in pregnancy, affects thousands of women in the UK and one in seven pregnancies worldwide. It is the most common medical pregnancy complication and occurs when a hormone made by the placenta stops the body from using insulin effectively, leading to elevated blood glucose levels.

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UK children shorter, fatter and sicker amid poor diet and poverty, report finds

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Food Foundation says height of five-year-olds falling, child obesity up by a third and type 2 diabetes by a fifth

Children across the UK are getting shorter, fatter and sicker amid an epidemic of poor diets, food insecurity and poverty, according to a report warning that millions are facing a “timebomb” of avoidable health conditions.

The average height of five-year-olds is falling, obesity levels have increased by almost a third and the number of young people being diagnosed with type 2 diabetes has risen by more than a fifth, the report by the Food Foundation said.

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Mounjaro is second obesity drug to be approved for use in England

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Those with BMI of 35 and a comorbidity can now be prescribed tirzepatide and Nice says it is more effective than Wegovy

The medical treatment regulator for England has approved a second drug to combat obesity, giving patients and doctors what it says is a more effective alternative to semaglutide.

The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (Nice) issued draft guidance on Tuesday recommending that very obese people should be prescribed tirzepatide, which is marketed in the UK as Mounjaro.

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Extend success of UK sugar tax to cakes, biscuits and chocolate, experts urge

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Exclusive: Co-author of analysis for WHO calls on government to control the food industry rather than being subservient to it

The sugar tax has been so successful in improving people’s diets that it should be extended to cakes, biscuits and chocolate, health experts say.

The World Health Organization wants the next UK government to expand coverage of the levy to help tackle tooth decay, obesity, diabetes and other illnesses.

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Danish firm behind weight-loss drug Wegovy raises profit forecast to £15.3bn

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Novo Nordisk, which is now Europe’s most valuable company, also reports strong sales of diabetes drug Ozempic

Strong sales of diabetes and weight loss drugs Ozempic and Wegovy have prompted the Danish pharmaceutical company Novo Nordisk to raise its 2024 profit forecast to up to £15.3bn, with supply shortages starting to ease.

Europe’s most valuable company, whose stock market value exceeds the size of the Danish economy, has struggled to keep up with runaway demand for the two weight-loss jabs.

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Health of England’s children at risk from policy inaction on obesity, report finds

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Exclusive: Officially commissioned research lays out effects of shelving anti-obesity pledges

Children in England are at risk of diabetes, heart disease and other serious health problems because ministers have shelved anti-obesity policies until 2025, according to a damning report commissioned by the government.

The independent report says that ultra-processed foods (UPF) and products high in fat, sugar and salt (HFSS) have become “normalised” in children’s diets, with poorer parents powerless to curb them.

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NHS lifestyle scheme has ‘huge benefits’ for people at risk of diabetes, study finds

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International study finds those on England programme have bigger drops in BMI, blood sugar and bad cholesterol

People at risk of diabetes reduce their weight and levels of bad cholesterol after undergoing “lifestyle counselling” in the NHS’s diabetes prevention programme, a major international study has found.

The health service launched the programme in 2016 to help prevent patients in England from developing diabetes through intensive weight loss, diet and exercise goals. Prediabetic patients referred to the scheme attend at least 13 group sessions over nine months. Latest figures from NHS England show that 1.3 million people have been referred to the scheme so far and 120,000 patients are due to take part this year.

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Colombia passes ambitious ‘junk food law’ to tackle lifestyle diseases

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The Latin American country is one of the first in the world to introduce a health tax targeting ultra-processed foods

A new law in Colombia making it one of the first countries in the world to explicitly tax ultra-processed food has been hailed by campaigners and health experts who say it could set an example for other countries.

After years of campaigning, the “junk food law” came into force this month and a levy will be introduced gradually. An additional tax on affected foods will begin at 10% immediately, rising to 15% next year and reaching 20% in 2025.

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Ozempic overdoses: data reveals Australians sent to emergency after misuse of diabetes drug

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Exclusive: NSW poisons information centre received more than 120 calls related to the diabetes drug in a year, 83% of them about medication errors

Patients have been referred to hospital emergency departments after unintentionally taking a higher dose of Ozempic than prescribed, data obtained by Guardian Australia has revealed.

The drug semaglutide, sold under the brand name Ozempic in Australia, is subsidised under the pharmaceutical benefits scheme for the treatment of type 2 diabetes.

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UK public warned over dangers of fake weight loss medication pens

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Pre-filled injection devices claimed to hold Ozempic or Saxenda may contain other substances, regulator says

The UK medicines regulator has issued a public warning about fake and potentially harmful weight loss pens after seizing hundreds of devices sold by illegal traders.

The pens, with which the traders’ drugs are injected, are claimed to contain the medications Ozempic (semaglutide) or Saxenda (liraglutide), which are used for weight loss. However, these pens are thought to contain other substances.

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TGA investigating potential link between diabetes drug Ozempic and reports of gastro-intestinal side effects

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Drug has been used off-label for weight loss leading to a global shortage and usage may come with risks, experts say

Australia’s drug regulator is investigating new reports of potential gastro-intestinal side effects of diabetes turned weight-loss drug Ozempic.

Ozempic, is a drug prescribed as a treatment for type 2 diabetes, but has been widely used off-label for weight loss, causing worldwide shortages, including in Australia. The same drug, branded as Wegovy, is now approved for weight management in Australia, but is not currently available.

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California governor vetoes bill that would have set a $35 cap for insulin

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Bill denial for the prescription drug price cap called ‘a major setback’ for diabetics in the state

Gavin Newsom has vetoed a bill that would have stopped insurance companies from charging more than $35 for insulin.

The bill would have banned health plans and disability insurance policies from imposing any out-of-pocket expenses on insulin prescription drugs above $35 for a 30-day supply. That would have included deductibles and co-pays.

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Thousands unaware they have diabetes could be diagnosed at A&E, says study

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Research by NHS trust found simple blood test could help people avoid complications from type 2 diabetes

Thousands of people unaware they have type 2 diabetes could be diagnosed and avoid serious complications if screening was introduced in emergency departments, a study suggests.

The prevalence of the disease has risen dramatically in countries of all income levels in the last three decades, according to the World Health Organization. More than 400 million people have been diagnosed, but millions more are estimated to be in the dark about the fact they have the condition.

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Britons living in deprived areas have poorer sleep quality, study finds

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First large-scale UK investigation of its kind discovers social deprivation and ethnicity both affect sleep

People living in deprived areas of the UK have poorer sleep quality than those in affluent areas, the first large-scale study of sleep across the population has found.

Black people reported the worst sleep overall, with the research finding both social deprivation and ethnicity affect sleep quality, irrespective of age, sex, personal wealth, employment and education.

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Investment in Indigenous community health key to reduce diabetes rates

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Calls for greater funding in local health services as Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people suffer from high rates of type 1 and 2 diabetes

Australia needs to invest in local community-led health providers to reduce rates of type 2 diabetes in Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples, the peak body for Indigenous health services has said.

Thirteen percent of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people over the age of 18 have been diagnosed with diabetes – three times the national rate for non-Indigenous people, according to data from the Australian Institute of Health and Welfare.

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