The epidemic of the 21st century –not AIDS
(biz.yahoo.com) The International Diabetes Federation (IDF) has published new data indicating the enormity of the diabetes epidemic. Data published today in the Federation’s Diabetes Atlas show that the disease now affects a staggering 246 million people worldwide, with 46% of all those affected in the 40-59 age group. Previous figures underestimated the scope of the problem, while even the most pessimistic predictions fell short of the current figure. The new data predict that the total number of people living with diabetes will skyrocket to 380 million within twenty years if nothing is done.
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Diabetes is deadly. It accounts for 3.8 million deaths per year, similar in magnitude to HIV/AIDS. Once thought of as a disease of the elderly, diabetes has shifted down a generation to affect people of working age, particularly in developing countries. This has economic consequences. As IDF Vice-President Jean-Claude Mbanya puts it, “This epidemic is responsible for so much suffering and loss of life, yet so little is being done to tackle it. Where growing economies like India and China lead, many will soon follow. Doing nothing in the face of the epidemic will place significant stress on the economic development of many countries and will jeopardize the Millennium Development Goals.” (more…)
