Clinics are overwhelmed by diabetes and hypertension epidemics, yet government recently weakened proposals to tax sugary drinks driving this epidemic. In a pattern similar to HIV two decades ago, government clinics are being swamped by 40,000 new patients a month suffering from hypertension and diabetes. By late last year, over 25,000 new hypertensive patients and over 15,000 new diabetic patients were being seen every month at public clinics, according to the health department’s District Health Information System. Last week, Statistics SA (StatsSA) reported that diabetes became the biggest killer of South African women in 2015, and the second biggest killer overall. Two years previously, diabetes was only the fifth biggest killer. Non-communicable diseases (NCDs), many related to us being too fat, are now responsible for well over half of all deaths (55,5%)…..more