Leading doctor Sir Muir Gray has claimed that type 2 diabetes isn't a "real illness"
A leading British doctor has claimed that type 2 diabetes "isn't a real illness" and that it should be renamed to "walking deficiency syndrome".
Sir Muir Gray, a leading medical mind in the UK, has researched heavily into the illness, and has now claimed that it is a result of the "modern environment".
The doctor's comments will come as a shock to sufferers of the illness - of the nearly 4 million people in the UK who are diabetic, roughly 90% of those are type 2.
Sir Muir made his controversial comments at the Oxford Literary Festival, saying: "Type 2 diabetes or 'walking deficiency syndrome', I'm trying to get the name changed.
"I wrote about this and somebody wrote back and said it was called a metabolic syndrome. I said I don't believe in metabolic syndromes."
He then went on to suggest that it wasn't a "real" illness: "The problem with calling it type 2 diabetes or metabolic syndrome makes you think it's like rheumatoid arthritis or a real disease. These are conditions caused by the modern environment.'
However, type 2 diabetes is allegedly quite preventable, and the chances of developing it are largely influenced by lifestyle - more specifically, diet and levels of exercise.
It also costs the NHS somewhere in the region of £10 billion every year, with the organisation spending more on diabetic medication than any other condition.
Type 2 diabetics can experience symptoms such as increased thirst and hunger, frequent urination and blurred vision.
Whereas type 1 diabetes is, according to the NHS, an "autoimmune condition, which means your immune system attacks healthy body tissue by mistake. In this case, it attacks the cells in your pancreas".
Sir Muir is renowned for his pioneering work in breast and cervical screenings, and received a knighthood in 2005 for his work in developing the foetal, maternal and child screening programme as well as creating the National Library for Health.
He has also written many books on healthcare.
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