YOU may not be aware of this - or even necessarily agree with it, but the biggest health challenge currently facing the UK is diabetes. That is the assessment of the chief executive of Diabetes UK, Douglas Smallwood.

At the start of a week of campaigning to raise awareness of the condition, the charity is highlighting the risks of heart attacks for diabetics.

More than 300 diabetics are admitted to hospital every week after suffering cardiac failure.

According to an NHS study, the weekly statistics, roughly the same number were admitted with strokes, 65 needed foot or toe amputations, and 38 needed leg amputations.

Studies also suggest that people with diabetes are five times more likely than those without to have a heart attack or contract cardiovascular disease and are two to three times more likely to have a stroke.

The charity says that cardiovascular disease is the most common diabetes complication, accounting for at least half of the 70 diabetes attributable deaths that occur every day in the UK.

In Poole Park yesterday, members of the local branch of Diabetes UK did their annual charity walk, having raised £15,000 in the past five years.

We probably all know someone with the condition, but almost certainly most of us fail to appreciate how serious its consequences can be.This week should help to change that perception a little.