SHANGHAI: Doctors are warning of new health risks to the rural population as their living conditions improve.

"An increasing number of people have diabetes or are at risk to the disease in the rural areas, and at a younger age," Ning Guang, professor of endocrinology and vice-president of Shanghai Ruijin Hospital, said at the third International Endocrine Symposium in Shanghai on Friday.

The disease is grouped under metabolic syndrome - risk factors linked to overweight and obesity that increase a person's likelihood of suffering a heart attack, diabetes, stroke, and hypertension.