Diabetes may cause first fall life expectancy for 200 years
October 20th 2008
A number of papers report on figures from Diabetes UK which show Britain is in the grip of a diabetes epidemic that threatens to overwhelm the NHS and could lead to the first fall in life expectancy in 200 years.
The number of cases diagnosed has doubled in a year.The increase brings the number of British diabetics to almost 2.5 million.
The soaring rate of diabetes is said to be driven by rising obesity.Today’s figures show 5 million people are registered as obese by their GP's. At least a million more Britons are predicted to succumb to diabetes by2010. Professor Sir George Alberti, a Government adviser and former head of the International Diabetes Federation, said: “The catastrophe has started to happen.The Government has begun to tackle obesity and inactivity but converting good words into action is very difficult. It will take ages to have an effect.”
(Independent,p4;Sun p28; Mail p5; Telegraph p10, Times p4)
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