Type 2 diabetes is not a real illness, says top doctor

Type 2 diabetes should be renamed 'walking deficiency syndrome' because it is not a 'real disease', according to one of Britain's leading medical practitioners.

Sir Muir Gray has done extensive research on how modern lifestyles such as sitting at a desk or in a car are contributing to the risk of disease.

He claims that type 2 diabetes, which is largely preventable but costs the NHS billions of pounds a year to treat, should be renamed because it is caused by the 'modern environment'.

Speaking at the Oxford Literary Festival, Sir Muir said: 'Type two 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.

'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.'

Nearly 4 million people in the UK suffer from diabetes and approximately 90 per cent of these are type 2 diabetes sufferers.

By contrast, type 1 diabetes – whose sufferers include Theresa May – is an autoimmune condition and often emerges in childhood.

The chances of developing type 2 diabetes are greatly exacerbated by being overweight and many sufferers are able to reverse the condition by dieting alone.

The NHS now spends more on medication for diabetes than any other condition. 

Diabetes is thought to cost the NHS about £10billion, once the cost of treatment, including amputation and hospitalisations for life-threatening hypoglycaemic attacks, is included.

Sir Muir pioneered breast and cervical screening and was knighted for his work in the development of foetal, maternal and child screening programmes.

More recently he has championed exercise, activity and social remedies to combat a wide ranging number of diseases.

Sir Muir has written Midlife: Look Younger, Live Longer and Look Better.

He claims midlife is a time to take stock and do simple things that can help people live a longer healthier life.

Speaking about watching television he said: 'Always keep the remote control far away from you. Always stand during advertisements on one leg. Never sit down for the weather.

'We live in a sofa-owning democracy but I am wondering if I should be campaigning to stop sofa advertisements on television like cigarette advertisements. So (you should) watch television as little as possible and be active as possible (while doing it).'

He also said that older people should try to stand up when traveling on trains or buses.

He said: 'Stand up commuting. I try not to catch the eye of young people. We may need to have a big badge like the badge for pregnancy. No thanks I'm training for my 80s.'

Sir Muir is also an honorary professor at Oxford University and has worked for the NHS since 1972, occupying a variety of senior positions.

Dr Stephen Lawrence, clinical lead for diabetes for the Royal College of GPs, and principal teaching fellow in diabetes at Warwick University, said: 'Type 2 diabetes is primarily caused by lifestyle factors, but it is associated with other demographic and genetic factors as well - to say it isn't a real disease is unhelpful, and will only serve to stigmatise those patients who have it.

'Type 2 diabetes is a very serious and debilitating health condition for patients, and can lead to other serious conditions, such as cardiovascular, eye and kidney disease.

Diabetes is a disease, you don't spend a billion pounds on a drug if it's not a disease.

'We know that making simple lifestyle changes, including being more active and taking steps to lose weight can have real benefits for patients with type 2 diabetes – but we need to be encouraging patients to do this, not blaming them for having the condition, which could be counter-productive in inspiring lifestyle change.'

Tam Fry, of the National Obesity Forum and Action on sugar, criticised Sir Muir's claims.

He said: 'I think Muir Gray is going too far. Diabetes is a disease, you don't spend a billion pounds on a drug if it's not a disease.

'The real problem with changing its name is it is mixed messages. We are tuned to diabetes 1 and diabetes 2. Not sleepy walky syndrome or whatever it is he wants to call it.' 

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