To be fair to Diabetes UK, their press releases are usually pretty clear about the facts. Sadly, “skinny diabetics with excellent exercise regimes and healthy diets cost NHS a fortune” doesn’t make such a good headline for lazy jouranlists.
I’ve always wondered why Finland has such a high number of Type 1’s compared to the rest of Europe, it’s always seemed strange. There’s an interesting overview of the prevalence of Type 1 here – http://www.diabetesandenvironment.org/home/incidence – talking about the possible reasons why that might be the case – ranging from lack of sunlight, to the fact that some pollutants migrate towards the poles, therefore the further north you live, the more you’re exposed to them. There’s todays reason for moving somewhere warm and sunny!