The number of young people in the North East and north Cumbria with type 2 diabetes has risen by a third since the start of the coronavirus pandemic, new figures show.

The Association of British Clinical Diabetologists said the greatest risk factor people can change is obesity, particularly for younger people at risk of the disease.

NHS Digital figures show 8,850 under-40s in the NHS North East and North Cumbria Integrated Care Board area were registered with type 2 diabetes as of the end of March.

This has risen by 33 per cent since March 2020, when there were 6,675.

Across England, registrations have risen by more than a third over the same period.

As the Government aims to ease the burden on the NHS with a more preventative approach, a ban on TV adverts before 9pm and all online paid-for adverts for junk food will come into force from October 2025.

In the North East and north Cumbria, 205,825 people were registered with type 2 diabetes in March, a 14 per cent rise since before the pandemic.

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The Department of Health and Social Care said the Government aims to improve diabetes treatment "by shifting care from hospital to community" and focusing on prevention, rather than treatment.

A spokesperson added: "We know that preventative action can significantly reduce the risk of developing type 2 diabetes, which makes these increases totally unacceptable.

"We will ease the strain on the NHS by shifting from treatment to prevention, banning TV and online advertising of junk food to children, stopping fast food shops targeting school children and ending the sale of high-caffeine energy drinks to under-16s."