Diabetes is a complex condition, which can affect the entire body. Understanding diabetes is important even if you don’t have it.

Diabetes is a chronic condition. This means that it lasts for a long time, often for someone's whole life. For our bodies to work properly we need to convert glucose (sugar) from food into energy. A hormone called insulin is essential for the conversion of glucose into energy. In people with diabetes, insulin is no longer produced or not produced in sufficient amounts by the body.