The International Diabetes Federation says the diabetes epidemic is worsening and described the global number of cases as "staggering." The group spoke Tuesday at a European meeting in Lisbon.
It estimated that diabetes causes 4.6 million deaths every year and that health systems spend $465 billion annually fighting the disease. That includes both Type 1 and Type 2 diabetes.
Jean Claude Mbanya, the federation's president, says "in 2011, one person is dying from diabetes every seven seconds."
