He blames the shift on generations of pets who grew up with bad diets, over-vaccination and being constantly doused with chemicals such as flea repellents.

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Bad diets and a lack of exercise are expected to almost double the prevalence of the disease by 2015, and drug companies are pushing potential treatments to market.

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But the unhealthiest countries in Europe are in the east, where diets are bad and health care is dominated by costly and inefficient hospitals.

ECONOMIST: European health