The short answer is that your pancreas is no longer making enough insulin for your body’s needs. The long answer as to why this has happened to you is not so well understood but there are a few clues. Diabetes often runs in families (see the next section on Inheritance). Other possible causes are discussed in this section. It is not a rare condition and in the UK, about 3 people in 100 are known to have diabetes, with an equal number of people who have diabetes but are unaware of it. If a whole population is carefully screened for diabetes, many new people with diabetes are discovered, usually 1 new one for every known one. About 3 children per 1000 have diabetes and the risk is increasing, particularly in young children below the age of 5 years.