Diabetes in Sport: Tackling Stigma, Building Inclusion & Unlocking Athlete Potential

Physical activity is a powerful tool for managing diabetes and preventing serious health complications. However, there are significant barriers faced by people with diabetes, especially young athletes, including stigma, misunderstanding, and a lack of support from coaches, schools, and sporting bodies. The discussion emphasizes the urgent need for systemic change, education, and clear policies to ensure everyone, regardless of their health condition, can participate safely and confidently in sport, fostering better health outcomes and community cohesion.

Key Takeaways:

• Diabetes is a major public health challenge affecting 12 million people in the UK, contributing to strokes, amputations, and heart attacks.
• Physical activity is crucial for managing diabetes, helping to regulate blood glucose, reduce insulin needs, improve blood pressure, and support mental health.
• People with diabetes often face exclusion, misunderstanding, and stigma in sports, leading to missed opportunities and emotional distress.
• A systemic failure exists, with many sporting bodies, coaches, and schools ill-equipped to support individuals with diabetes, as evidenced by a lack of specific policies.
• The Equality Act 2010 provides legal protection against discrimination, but a gap remains between policy and lived experience.
• Government initiatives and funding aim to increase physical activity and reduce inactivity, particularly among demographics with long-term health conditions like diabetes.
• There's a call for national sports bodies to show leadership, work with healthcare professionals, and provide training and clear policies to tackle stigma and ensure inclusion.

Definitions:

• Hypoglycaemia (Hypos): A common concern for people with diabetes, where blood sugar levels drop too low, especially during exercise, requiring immediate treatment.

Source: Diabetes in Sport
Volume 772: debated on Wednesday 3 September 2025

Follow and subscribe to 'The Bench Report' on Apple, Spotify, and YouTube for new episodes daily: thebenchreport.co.uk

Subscribe to our Substack 

Shape our next episode! Get in touch with an issue important to you - Producer Tom will grab another coffee and start the research!

Email us: thebenchreportuk@gmail.com

Follow us on YouTube,  X, Bluesky, Facebook, Instagram and TikTok! @benchreportUK

Support us for bonus and extended episodes + more.

No outside chatter: source material only taken from Hansard and the Parliament UK website.  

Contains Parliamentary information repurposed under the Open Parliament Licence v3.0....

Transcript

Unknown 0:00

Thank you.

Amy 0:03

Hello and welcome again to The Bench Report. Concise summaries of debates and briefings from the benches of the UK Parliament. A new topic every episode. You're listening to Amy and Ivan. Our focus today is a critical parliamentary discussion on diabetes in sport. Now, this isn't just about an illness. It's about, well, a surprising paradox. Consider this. One in five adults in the UK, that's around 12 million people, live with diabetes or prediabetes. And for these individuals, physical activity is genuinely one of the most potent tools to improve their health outcomes. Yet incredibly significant barriers often prevent them from actually participating. This debate was initiated by Chris Bloor, the MP for Redditch, and it gained real traction with MPs from across the House sharing quite powerful personal experiences.

Ivan 0:48

And it's really vital to grasp the severity of those health implications mentioned. The debate underscored that diabetes can be a sort of gateway to far more serious conditions. We're talking about some startling numbers. Over 980 strokes, 184 amputations, and 680 heart attacks every single week linked to diabetes in the UK. It contributes to nearly 30% of all cardiovascular disease deaths.

Amy 1:10

That's staggering. So how does exercise fit in? How does it help?

Ivan 1:13

Well, it directly improves the body's sensitivity to insulin, whether that's naturally produced or injected. It really helps stabilize blood glucose levels. However, as Sarah Boole, an MP with type 1 diabetes, pointed out, exercise brings unique stresses and strains, particularly that constant worry about hypoglycemia or hypos.

Amy 1:34

The low blood sugar incidence?

Ivan 1:36

Exactly. And what emerged clearly is that overcoming this anxiety needs more than just awareness. It requires consistent reassurance and, crucially, tailored education.

Amy 1:47

And that seems to be where the conversation really sharpened its focus, didn't it, on the problem of stigma and those inappropriate stereotypes. We heard some truly shocking stories presented in the debate, like a 10-year-old child basically pushed out of their football team. The manager just could not cope.

Ivan 2:02

Unbelievable.

Amy 2:03

Another child actively discouraged from swimming lessons, even though the parent offered to monitor everything. And another asked to leave a karate dojo after having a hypo. They were told off for eating and not keeping still.

Ivan 2:14

Which is precisely what you might need to do after a hypo.

Amy 2:16

Exactly. And even at an elite level, a young player in a Premier League squad excluded from games after one incident. He eventually left the club because the stigma was just too much.

Ivan 2:26

These aren't just isolated anecdotes, are they? They point towards something deeper.

Amy 2:30

Precisely. They reveal what was termed a deep deep-seated systemic failure in how sport handles this condition.

Ivan 2:37

And that systemic failure, unfortunately, can be quantified. The debate revealed a pretty stark truth. Out of 184 national governing bodies in sport, only 20 even mention diabetes on their websites.

Amy 2:51

Just 20.

Ivan 2:52

Just 20. And a mere four actually have specific policies in place. That's a huge gap in official support and guidance.

Amy 2:59

So there's a law, the Equality Act 2010, that should offer protection.

Ivan 3:03

It does. legally speaking. But there's clearly this significant gulf between policy and lived experience for people with diabetes. It's often a hidden disability. And that lack of clear guidance of understanding, it just fuels the stigma.

Amy 3:16

And this ties into wider health inequalities, too, doesn't it?

Ivan 3:19

Yes. The discussion broadened to that. It noted people from more deprived areas are twice as likely to develop type 2 diabetes. They often have less access to safe active spaces, too. And certain ethnicities are also more predisposed. It's complex.

Amy 3:34

So with all these challenges laid bare, what's the government's plan? What was the response from the minister? Stephanie Peacock, the parliamentary undersecretary of state for culture, media and sport. She outlined several initiatives. There's mention of a 10 year health plan, a significant 250 million dollar investment in Sport England's place based partnerships

Ivan 3:56

aimed at specific communities.

Amy 3:57

Yes. And an additional 400 million specifically for local community sport facilities. She also brought up the We Undefeatable campaign.

Ivan 4:04

Ah, yes. That campaign is specifically designed to tackle stigma around exercising with health conditions, both the visible ones and the invisible ones like diabetes.

Amy 4:13

So connecting the dots between policy and practice.

Ivan 4:16

Exactly. The ambition is there, but the real insight came from examples of practical implementation. The debate showcased successful models like social prescribing, which is all about linking health care directly to community physical activity.

Amy 4:31

Like doctors prescribing exercise.

Ivan 4:33

In a way, Yes. Connecting people to local resources. We heard about a one-stop shop in Sheffield supporting people with diabetes and partnership work in Essex integrating health and leisure services. It really emphasizes how critical early intervention and positive experiences are, especially in schools.

Amy 4:50

That must be key.

Ivan 4:51

Absolutely. MP Tom Gordon shared a really poignant memory of his sister being told years ago to inject her insulin in a toilet at high school.

Amy 4:58

In a toilet. Good grief.

Ivan 5:00

It just underlines how vital it is to foster understanding and real inclusivity from a very young age. You know, while the unpredictability of diabetes itself is a reality people manage, ignorance and stigma, those should never be acceptable barriers.

Amy 5:13

So the final thought perhaps is for all of us.

Ivan 5:15

I think so. How can every part of our society, from schools to local clubs, right up to the national governing bodies, how can we all play a part? How do we make sure sport and physical activity are genuinely accessible, truly welcoming for absolutely everyone, whatever their health condition might be?

Amy 5:32

A crucial question to consider as always find us on social media at bench report uk get in touch with any topic important to you remember politics is everyone's business