Around one in 10 middle aged Europeans develop type 2 diabetes over a 10 year period.1 This may rise with the threatened epidemic of type 2 diabetes, driven partly by the increase in obesity, which is projected to result in a prevalence of type 2 diabetes worldwide of 366 million by 2030 (www.who.int/diabetes/facts/world_figures/en/).2 This will place a considerable burden on healthcare systems, as type 2 diabetes is a common cause of renal failure and blindness and increases the risk of cardiovascular diseases and mortality.
