Diabetes 'catastrophe' looms

A HEALTH "catastrophe" is looming as diabetes cases soar, one of the world’s leading researchers into the disease warns today.

Dr Dario Alessi, of Dundee University, said poor diet and lack of exercise were storing up major problems for the future.

Dr Alessi, 35, who is already one of the most quoted scientists internationally, said cases of the disease in Britain are expected to increase from two million to five million - or nearly one in ten people - by 2020.

In an interview with The Scotsman to mark the start of National Diabetes Week on Saturday, Dr Alessi said: "This is mainly due to lifestyle factors, such as lack of exercise and eating fast food, too much sugar and not enough protein and vegetables.

"This is going to result in a catastrophic problem in the future. It will be very serious."

Dr Alessi said one of the most worrying aspects is that the most common form of the disease, which is normally a feature of middle age, is now striking teenagers.

The Italian-Scot, who was brought up in Brussels, also revealed he was warned at school he might not even reach higher education.

Dr Alessi said he had not been a high-flyer at school and had been dissuaded from original plans to become a doctor.

He said: "I wanted to do medicine, but my teachers told me I might not make it to university. I was not very good at storing information in my head, so medicine would probably have been a bad choice."

He opted for biochemistry but only one university - Birmingham - offered him a place.