{"id":510936,"date":"2025-10-19T03:09:11","date_gmt":"2025-10-19T03:09:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/510936\/"},"modified":"2025-10-19T03:09:11","modified_gmt":"2025-10-19T03:09:11","slug":"midlands-towns-and-cities-among-unhealthiest-in-england","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/510936\/","title":{"rendered":"Midlands towns and cities ‘among unhealthiest in England’"},"content":{"rendered":"

Towns and cities in our region made the list in a new study\"HighWest Bromwich in Sandwell.(Image: Birmingham Mail)<\/p>\n

Residents in a number of towns and cities in the Midlands are considered among the unhealthiest in England.<\/p>\n

New data showed our region has some of the highest adult type 2 diabetes rates, the condition which can be linked to unhealthy lifestyles.<\/p>\n

Over one in 10 people have the condition in Leicester, Sandwell<\/a> and Wolverhampton, according to latest data.<\/p>\n

READ MORE: New cameras at Midlands M5 junction to punish drivers over rule many don’t know exists<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n

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These are the three worst areas for type 2 diabetes.<\/p>\n

Birmingham<\/a> also makes the top 10 in 8th place, with 10% of Brummies said to be living with diabetes.<\/p>\n

Rates in all these areas are significantly above the national average of 8%, analysis by Opera Beds found.<\/p>\n

Cases tend to be higher in areas with greater poverty and deprivation, where fitness levels and diet is generally likely to be worse.<\/p>\n

Sandwell, which is made up of towns including West Bromwich, Oldbury, and Smethwick<\/a>, is one of the most deprived parts of England.<\/p>\n

GP Dr Tim Mercer said: \u201cType 2 diabetes is a serious condition that occurs when the body doesn\u2019t produce enough, or develops resistance to, insulin, causing blood sugar levels to rise.<\/p>\n

“Increased blood sugar levels can trigger several symptoms such as frequent urination, excessive thirst, fatigue and blurry vision.<\/p>\n

“It can also lead to more severe complications over time, including heart disease, nerve damage, kidney problems, vision loss and dementia.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhile small lifestyle changes, like eating a balanced diet, staying active, getting good quality sleep and maintaining a healthy weight, can help lower the risk of type 2 diabetes, wider action is essential.<\/p>\n

“Policies that address all determinants of health, such as poverty, living conditions, dietary education, green spaces and opportunities for exercise are necessary to have a longer-lasting impact on reducing type 2 diabetes rates.\u201d<\/p>\n

To get breaking news emailed to you, sign up here<\/a>, it’s free.<\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Towns and cities in our region made the list in a new studyWest Bromwich in Sandwell.(Image: Birmingham Mail)…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":510937,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5008],"tags":[748,393,4884,211,12608,16,15,17299,4349],"class_list":{"0":"post-510936","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-england","8":"tag-britain","9":"tag-england","10":"tag-great-britain","11":"tag-nhs","12":"tag-sandwell","13":"tag-uk","14":"tag-united-kingdom","15":"tag-west-bromwich","16":"tag-wolverhampton"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@uk\/115398637457335293","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/510936","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=510936"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/510936\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/510937"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=510936"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=510936"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=510936"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}