Diabetes jump in UK linked to lifestyle

LONDON: New cases of diabetes are soaring in Britain, with medical experts linking the rise to a jump in obesity rates caused by unhealthy diets and lack of exercise.

The findings suggest that diabetes in Britain is increasing faster than in the United States, where prevalence of the disease is one of the highest in the world.

The number of people newly diagnosed with diabetes jumped 74 percent between 1997 and 2003, according to research published in the Journal of Epidemiology and Community Health.