The international Diabetes Federation has made a very worrying predictions. By the year 2030 one in ten people will have diabetes.

In a report that was recently issued the federation made an estimation that in the next two decades the people who suffer with diabetes will escalate to a massive 522 million. This has been based on things like demographic changes and ageing.

This figure is inclusive of both type 1 and type 2 diabetes. The federation expects a 90% jump even in Africa where traditionally it has been the infectious diseases that have been the number one killer.

According to figures released by the World Health Organisation, currently there are about 346 million people living with diabetes worldwide. More than 80% of deaths are occurring in the developing countries. The WHO has predicted that deaths will double by 2030 and has found that the International Diabetes Federation’s estimation is plausible.

CNN interviewed Gojka Roglic the head of the WHO’s diabetes unit. Here is what she said.

“It’s a credible figure, but whether or not it’s correct, we can’t say.”

Roglic said the projected future rise in diabetes cases was because of aging rather than the obesity epidemic. Most cases of diabetes are Type 2, the kind that mainly hits people in middle age, and is linked to weight gain and a sedentary lifestyle.

Roglic said a substantial number of future diabetes cases were preventable. “It’s worrying because these people will have an illness which is serious, debilitating, and shortens their lives,” she said. “But it doesn’t have to happen if we take the right interventions.”