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Diabetes worse killer than AIDS
The world faces a devastating (Type 2) diabetes epidemic, says the World Health Organisation. It says the annual death toll from the condition is already exceeding the three million killed by AIDS and will keep rising.
The WHO and the International Diabetes Foundation said the number of sufferers worldwide would more than double by 2030 - from 171 million to 366 million. Although diabetes is often thought of as a problem for rich countries, it is growing more quickly in poorer countries, and the number of cases is expected to rise by 150% over the next 25 years.
In India the number would leap from 32 million to 80 million. In rich states, diabetes affects mainly older people, but in poorer countries its incidence is rising among those still economically active. "The number is increasing dramatically, and has the potential to overwhelm countries' health systems" the WHO director for chronic disease Dr Robert Beaglehole said.
Type 2 diabetes is often linked to obesity, which the WHO says is rising in developing as well as developed countries. WHO and the IDF said they were starting a campaign to raise awareness because Type 2 diabetes could be prevented by improved eating and exercise habits.
"It is determined environmentally, and therefore it can be reversed," Dr Beaglehole said. Ethnicity appears to play a role, as Asians and Pacific Islanders seem more prone to the illness.
Published on this website on Thu, 04 Nov 2010