How to spot the nine "secret" symptoms of diabetes that you may not know

AAccording to Dr. Matthew Capehorn, general practitioner and clinical leader of the NHS Rotherham Institute for Obesity, as well as medical director of LighterLife and member of the Obesity Empowerment Network, knowledge is power. "Nearly 85% of type 2 diabetes is associated with a poor lifestyle, such as overweight or obesity, unhealthy eating and lack of physical activity. All of these factors can increase the risk of having visceral fat leading to insulin resistance. (Visceral fat is the fat that gathers around vital organs.)

"People often think that diabetes means avoiding sugar. This will obviously help a body that is struggling to cope with blood sugar levels, but in type 2 diabetes, it's more about reducing the dangerous visceral fat, which often involves losing weight.

"At the beginning, and for many years, type 2 diabetes may have no noticeable symptoms, making diagnosis difficult unless it is detected by routine screening programs. The diagnosis is often a shock. Research by the International Diabetes Federation shows that at the time of diagnosis, many patients may have developed increasing insulin resistance for up to 10 years.