They say life begins at 40 - but according to health campaigners, that is just when everything starts to go rapidly downhill.

Researchers have found that 41 is the age when most Brits ‘let themselves go’.

Many over-40s begin to eat too much, put on weight and cut down on the amount of daily exercise they take, according to a new study.

And in a survey to mark the start of Diabetes Week, thousands of people said they wish they could turn back the clock.

More than 40 per cent of over-40s questioned felt they had let themselves go, with more than one third saying that if they could go back in time they wouldn’t allow themselves to become overweight.

More than 100,000 people are diagnosed with Type 2 diabetes every year in the UK - around 275 new cases every day or one every five minutes.

Despite diabetes being one of the biggest threats to the health of the nation, 42 per cent of those questioned said they didn’t understand what Type 2 diabetes was and a quarter couldn’t even name one complication associated with the disease, such as limb amputations, cardiovascular disease or blindness.

The survey was commissioned by Lloydspharmacy which today launched its ‘Diabetes - are you at risk?’ campaign to help people recognise the risk factors for Type 2 diabetes which include being overweight.

Alison Freemantle, diabetes expert at Lloydspharmacy, said: ‘Our research shows that many over-40s feel they’ve let themselves go and have regrets about putting on weight over the years - but they’re not necessarily making the link between being overweight and the risks of developing diabetes.’

More than 2,000 people of a variety of ages were surveyed for the study, which was carried out last month by Relate and the broadband company TalkTalk.

(Read by Renee Haines. Renee Haines is a journalist at the China Daily Website.)

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(Agencies)