India is being called the diabetes capital of the world by the International Journal of Diabetes in Developing Countries because India has the highest number of diabetic patients in the world
The International Diabetes Federation estimates that the number of diabetic patients in India more than doubled from 19 million in 1995 to 40.9 million in 2007. It is projected to increase to 69.9 million by 2025. Globally, diabetes affects 246 million people, which is about 6 per cent of the total adult population. Presently, up to 11 per cent of India’s urban population and 3 per cent of rural population above the age of 15 have diabetes.
The World Health Organization estimates that mortality from diabetes and heart disease cost India about $210 billion every year and is expected to increase to $335 billion in the next ten years.
Various studies have shown that the high incidence of diabetes in India is mainly because of sedentary lifestyle, lack of physical activity, obesity, stress and consumption of diets rich in fat, sugar and calories.
The most prevalent is the Type 2 diabetes, which constitutes 95 per cent of the diabetic population in the country. The Chennai-based Diabetes Research Centre says that eating whole grain carbohydrates and moderate exercise and avoiding excessive weight gain could eliminate over eighty per cent of Type-2 diabetes.