Diabetes has overtaken poverty-related infections to become the leading cause of death in Mexico, according to a new report that adds weight to a World Health Organization warning that a devastating global diabetes epidemic is looming. Mexico's Health Ministry said on Tuesday the report, just published, found deaths from diabetes, often linked to obesity, are increasing by 3 percent each year, making diabetes the cause of 12 percent of deaths in the country. "Diabetes is the best example of the epidemic transition the country is going through, characterized by a growing predominance of noncontagious illnesses," the report stated, noting associated factors like obesity were also on the rise. The global death toll from diabetes exceeds the three million killed by AIDS. World health bodies predict the number of diabetes sufferers worldwide could more than double to 366 million by 2030 from around 177 million now. Normally considered a rich countries' disease, diabetes is growing fastest in poor countries, often in tandem with obesity -- a rising problem in developing countries and especially in junk-food obsessed Mexico. --MORE 2252 Local Time 1952 GMT
