Regular exercise plays a significant role in the prevention of diabetes. [Photo/China Daily]

Lifestyle changes have led to growing rates of diabetes among Chinese, and more needs to be done to reverse the trend, according to diabetes specialist Xu Zhangrong.

In the early 1980s, the prevalence of diabetes among adults in China was 0.67 percent. In 2008, it increased to 9.7 percent, says Xu, who is the director of the diabetes treatment center of the 306th Hospital of the People's Liberation Army.

In 2010, under the new diagnostic criteria, the prevalence hit 11.6 percent, the highest in the world. China now has one-third of the world's diabetic population, according to a study published in the Journal of the American Medical Association in 2013.

Even more concerning is the prevalence of pre-diabetes among Chinese adults—a state when blood glucose levels are higher than normal, but not high enough for a diagnosis of diabetes—was estimated to be 50.1 percent in 2010. That is to say, up to 113.9 million Chinese adults have diabetes and 493.4 million have pre-diabetes.

The majority of cases in China are Type-2 diabetes, which is preventable. Diabetes in China is linked more with sedentary lifestyle, unhealthy diet, obesity, mental pressure and aging, rather than family history, according to Xu, who is also the deputy secretary-general of Chinese Diabetes Society under the Chinese Medical Association.

However, many pre-diabetics and diabetics pay little attention to disease prevention and control, until it is too late.

Xu says many people are not aware of the risks and there is a lack of qualified healthcare professionals in underdeveloped areas.

Only 25.8 percent of diabetics are treated in China, and only 39.7 percent of those treated have adequate glycemic control, according to the study published on JAMA.