Diabetes is a chronic (long-lasting) health condition that affects how your body turns food into energy. - https://www.cdc.gov/diabetes/basics/diabetes.html
In the UK there are 3.9 million people who have been diagnosed with diabetes. Out of this amount, 400,000 people have type 1 diabetes. There are two types, type 1 and type 2. 5-10% of the people who have diabetes have type 1. No one knows how type 1 diabetes is caused or how to prevent it but it is an autoimmune condition which causes the body to attack itself by mistake, stopping you from producing insulin. This means type 1 diabetics have to inject themselves with insulin everyday to survive.
Type 2 diabetes is more common, being overweight and inactive are key contributing factors to how it is caused. Having type 2 diabetes means that your pancreas is unable to produce enough insulin to manage your blood sugar levels. By losing weight, healthy eating and exercising, you can manage the disease. If this doesn't work then you may need diabetes medication or insulin.
It is important that diabetics monitor their blood sugars carefully. With type 1 diabetics everyday is a struggle, if they do not continuously monitor their glucose levels then they could drop, causing hypoglycemia which can be extremely dangerous. The symptoms of hypoglycaemia are: