The International Diabetes Federatio, speaking from the large diabetes conference underway in Cape Town at the moment, have revealed that diabetes now affects almost 250 million people worldwide. Apparently, 46 per cent of those affected are in the 40-59 age group. Within twenty years, this figure will soar to 380 million if awareness and prevention does not increase.
The president of the IDF, Pierre Lefebvre, said: “Just twenty years ago, the best information available suggested that 30 million people had diabetes. A bleaker picture has now emerged. Diabetes is fast becoming the epidemic of the 21st century.”
When considered on a global scale, the disease affects just under of 6 per cent of the adult population. Apparently, almost 80 per cent of diabetics inhabit developing countries. In the Western Pacific, 67 million suffer from diabetes whilst in Europe 53 million have the condition.
The president-elect of the IDF, Martin Silink, said: “The diabetes time bomb has been ticking for 50 years, and it’s been getting louder. Despite the warning, successive generations of world leaders have largely ignored the threat. Diabetes has now exploded with the force felt greatest in the Middle East, India, China and the USA.”

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