Turkey to be caught in the chronic disease storm in 20 years, says geneticist

Turkey will be caught in a "chronic disease storm" over the next 20 years, Professor Gökhan Hotam??l?gil, a world renowned geneticist, has warned.

Professor Hotam??l?gil said one third of the Turkish population is overweight, one third is clinically overweight and three percent is morbidly obese, adding problems to the country's future.

"I call it the '3-3-3 problem.' There is no question that Turkey will not be freed from a chronic disease storm relating to obesity. It will definitely create a huge problem in the next 15 or 20 years. Problems with cardiac diseases, diabetes and respiratory systems will rise," said Hotam??l?gil, speaking to daily Hürriyet following the 3rd Nutrition and Healthy Lifestyle Summit held in Istanbul on May 7.

Professor Hotam??l?gil said the problem is specifically caused by the rural exodus in recent years as well as a change in eating habits. He also said the older the population becomes, the higher the rise of chronic disease rates, bringing trouble to the country's healthcare system.

However, Professor Hotam??l?gil said they are now working on a vaccine prevention method for diabetes and cardiac diseases.

"The vaccine we are currently working on is another protein that will block a protein related to obesity. The program is going very well. We have a nominee molecule. The first study will be done in 2016 with a group of people. Our dream is to develop a vaccine that will reduce the risk for both diabetes and cardiac disease simultaneously," said Hotam??l?gil.