The new report calls upon governments to ensure that people are able to make healthy choices and health-systems are able to diagnose, treat and care for people with diabetes. It encourages everyone to eat healthily, be physically active, and avoid excessive weight gain.
Data on 142 countries published in the Lancet suggest that since 1980, age-standardised diabetes prevalence in adults has increased, or at best remained unchanged, in every country. In recognition of the far reaching implications of this disease, The Lancet has commissioned global experts in population health, epidemiology, clinical trials, and implementation to prioritise the major modifiable gaps, especially access to care, education, and essential technologies including medications and diagnostics, and determine what actions should be taken to change the course of the diabetes epidemic.