The number of adults estimated to be living with diabetes has nearly quadrupled over 35 years, the World Health Organization has said while calling for huge efforts to change eating habits and increase physical activity.
The disease directly caused 1.5 million deaths in 2012 – the latest available global figures – but elevated blood glucose levels linked to diabetes were responsible for an additional 2.2 million deaths that year, the report said.
“Globally, an estimated 422 million adults were living with diabetes in 2014, compared to 108 million in 1980,” the UN health agency said in its first-ever report on the disease on Wednesday, warning that the condition had spread because of worldwide changes “in the way people eat, move and live”.
The region worst affected, with 131 million estimated cases in 2014, was the WHO’s Western Pacific region, which includes China and Japan.
The Southeast Asia region, which includes heavily populated India and Indonesia, was the next most affected, with 96 million cases.
Europe and the Americas were third and fourth on the list, with 64 million and 62 million cases respectively.
“There is a critical window for intervention to mitigate the risk of obesity and type 2 diabetes later in life,” the report said.
The WHO report noted that spreading consumption of sugary drinks and other fattening foods was a key factor, but drew particular attention to high rates of physical inactivity.
According to worldwide 2010 figures, nearly a quarter of people over 18 did not do the minimum recommended amount of physical activity per week, with women recorded as less active than men.
The WHO recommends that adults get at least 150 minutes of moderate physical activity, including things like walking, jogging and gardening, per week.
“Physical inactivity is alarmingly common among adolescents,” the report added, noting that the excessively sedentary lifestyles were more acute in high-income countries than in low-income countries.
The WHO estimated that the annual global cost of diabetes, including healthcare needs, exceeds $827bn.
Like with obesity, WHO has stressed that putting excessive blame on individuals for eating too much or not exercising enough ignored several key factors, including the obstacles to eating healthily in several societies.
“Effectively addressing diabetes does not just happen: it is the result of collective consensus and public investment in interventions that are affordable, cost-effective and based on the best available science,” Margaret Chan, WHO’s chief, said in a statement.