Our Greatest Health Threat Diabetes

Professor Kerryn Phelps looks at the rising number of diabetics in Australia and advises how to reduce your risk.

- Kerryn Phelps

Across Australia, around 5 per cent of adults have diabetes and the number being diagnosed is increasing faster than other chronic diseases. Why is this? The simple answer is that we are consuming more kilojoules and doing less exercise. Another theory is that chemicals in our environment may be disrupting our metabolism and hormone balance.

The number of people diagnosed with diabetes increases with age, with 15 per cent of people aged 65 to 74 having the disease. Yet the number of younger people being diagnosed with Type 2 is also rising alarmingly because of the increase in childhood obesity and inactivity.

Because of the long-term complications, this means a heavy burden for future generations. We know that diabetes creates other health problems such as high blood pressure, heart and blood vessel disease, stroke, non-alcoholic fatty liver disease, blindness, kidney damage, nerve damage (numbness or pain in the feet and hands), erectile difficulty and foot ulcers.

There are two main types of diabetes, Type 1 (insulin dependent) and Type 2 (non-insulin dependent). The level of blood sugar (glucose) in your body is regulated by the hormone insulin, which is produced in the pancreas. Diabetes occurs when there is a problem with the production of this hormone, or the way it works in your body. If glucose is unable to enter cells to provide energy, levels build up in your bloodstream.

What is insulin resistance?