Russia risks a diabetes “epidemic” if current trends continue, Deputy Prime Minister for Social Policy Tatiana Golikova said Friday, citing rising case numbers and poor dietary habits.
Speaking at a meeting for the consumer protection agency Rospotrebnadzor, Golikova said she was “deeply concerned” about the number of diabetes cases recorded in 2025.
“The disease risks becoming an epidemic,” she said, adding that much of the problem stems from poor diets and food choices.
Health Minister Mikhail Murashko has previously warned that if Russians do not change their eating habits, half of the adult population could be overweight by 2030 — a major risk factor for type 2 diabetes.
More than 6 million adults and 65,000 children in Russia currently live with type 1 or type 2 diabetes, according to Health Ministry estimates, a figure that has more than doubled over the past 20 years.
Globally, the World Health Organization estimates more than 800 million adults now live with diabetes, a fourfold increase since 1990.
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