It is difficult to understand what impels Jean Karl Soler (‘Road safety’, August 17) to continue downplaying the importance of type 2 diabetes in Malta and to keep on quibbling about its high prevalence on the island.

Of course, the calculated prevalence of any disease will vary in different publications according to which criteria are used. The prevalence rates of diabetes vary quite widely between countries. The prevalence of diabetes in Malta, according to the International Diabetes Federation, is 13.2 per cent, which compares unfavourably with other EU countries (https://www.idf.org/our-network/regions members/europe/ members/149-malta.html).

The correspondent also continues to defy the scientific evidence in favour of healthy transport options, such as using public transport, walking or cycling and so continues to mislead readers with unsubstantiated statements and opinions.

As mentioned in the original article (‘Road to healthy living’, August 11), references to substantiate the contents of the article in respect of healthy transport options are available. To this end, a list of references to about 200 publications on the subject has been downloaded on timesofmalta.com and added to the comments beneath his letter for the benefit of the correspondent and other readers ( https://www.timesofmalta.com/articles/view/20180817/letters/road-safety.686921 ). The challenge for the correspondent is to produce one reputable publication that contradicts these.