ABSTRACT
The global prevalence of rst obesity, then metabolic syndrome (MetS) and diabetes, have been on the rise since at least the middle of the twentieth century. The new millennium has seen a continuation of this trend. The threat to individuals, national health care systems and health budgets from the MetS and its common consequence, type 2 diabetes, has seen diabetes become only the second disease after AIDS to be the subject of a United Nations resolution. Diabetes is now one of the most common noncommunicable diseases globally, and the fourth or fth leading cause of death in most developed countries (International Diabetes Federation 2012). Over one-third of a billion people were estimated to have diabetes in 2011 (90% type 2 diabetes), with projections suggesting that by 2030 this number will exceed 500 million (International Diabetes Federation 2012). A frequently unappreciated statistic is that some 80% of those living with diabetes are living in low-and middle-income countries. This is despite a “Western lifestyle” often being blamed for its development.
