Type 2 diabetes is a chronic progressive condition with a prevalence which rises with age. Its origins are believed to be multifactorial, and include genetic effects and environmental interactions, which may start in the uterus (with an association with low birth weight) and early developmental plasticity, resulting in compensatory growth through childhood and a tendency to abnormal glucose tolerance in adult life. The consequences are multi-systemic, with a combination of microvascular and macrovascular disease affecting multiple organs of the body. There is a high level of morbidity and mortality, typically accruing through adult life and into older age.