Diabetes on the rise in South Asia

The prevalence of diabetes—especially type 2 diabetes—continues to rise in the countries of South Asia.

"The contributory factors are genetic and high susceptibility to the adverse effects of unhealthy lifestyle."
-Ambady Ramachandran, MD, PhD, DSc, FRCP, MNAMS, FICP, FRCP, diabetologist and chairman/managing director of A. Ramachandran’s Diabetes Hospitals, Chennai, India; president of the India Diabetes Research Foundation

Close to 25% of the world population lives on the Indian sub-continent, comprised of India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Nepal, Sri Lanka, Bhutan, and Maldives. People of South Asian ethnicity have an increased risk for diabetes and present with the disorder at younger ages and lower BMIs than people in other parts of the world, studies have found.

India has the world’s largest diabetic population, with an estimated ...