The number of diabetes cases in developing countries could double in the next 30 years because of increasingly unhealthy diets and less exercise, the World Health Organization (WHO) said today.
The UN health agency said diabetes was part of a growing epidemic of non-communicable diseases beginning to threaten the world's poorest countries.
It estimated the number of cases in the developing world could soar from 115 million in 2000 to 284 million in 2030.
"Even as these countries are struggling to address the problems of HIV/AIDS, malaria and tuberculosis, they must also prepare to deal with the onslaught ofdiseases that come with changes in lifestyle and ageing of their populations,"said Dr Catherine Le Gales-Camus, WHO assistant director-general, in Geneva.
Some 90 per cent of the world's estimated 171 million people with the disease have type-2 diabetes, which is associated with obesity and lack of exercise.
In a statement timed to coincide with World Diabetes Day, WHO said it was developing a global strategy in association with the International Diabetes Federation to help countries prevent diabetes and other diseases related tounhealthy diets and physical inactivity, particularly among low and middle-income communities.
Diabetes is a chronic disease caused by having too much glucose in the blood because the body is not producing insulin or not using insulin properly.
AP