DIABETES INCREASING IN CHILDREN

TYPE 2 DIABETES IS ALMOST ALWAYS 100% PREVENTABLE THROUGH A HEALTHY DIET AND LIFESTYLE SO WHY ARE YOUNG CHILDREN AND ADOLESCENTS DEVELOPING THIS SERIOUS DISEASE THAT CAN DRAMATICALLY REDUCE THEIR LIFESPAN AND THEIR QUALITY OF LIFE WHEN IT IS SO EASY TO PREVENT?

Diabetes in Gen Y set to Skyrocket

“ONE in three members of generation Y is set to develop type 2 diabetes during their lifetime, according to new modelling.

A report, Diabetes: the Silent Pandemic and its Impact on Australia, estimated that by 2025, type 2 diabetes would triple in prevalence to affect three million Australians. Experts said type 1 diabetes was rising by about 3% per year, particularly affecting children aged up to four years. The report’s lead author, Associate Professor Jonathan Shaw from the Baker IDI Heart and Diabetes Institute, said Australia faced a critical point to take “urgent responsibility” to contain the diabetes burden.

“The battle against diabetes requires concerted efforts on a number of fronts – strategies to slow down the rapidly rising number of those developing the disease and ensuring those living with diabetes are able to manage this insidious condition effectively,” Professor Shaw said. “We must also do everything we can to fully understand diabetes via research.”

The report has prompted some of Australia’s leading research and consumer advocacy groups to demand a renewed focus from the federal government on the condition.

Diabetes Australia CEO Lewis Kaplan said it should be an immediate priority to recommit to the United Nations resolution to develop a formal national action plan to tackle diabetes.

“Time is of the essence because, unlike other developed nations [and] despite agreeing to these global recommendations, Australia has failed to take comprehensive action and implement change,” Mr Kaplan said.

While the current estimated annual health bill for diabetes was more than $6 billion, it would increase dramatically as more people were diagnosed”.

The report was funded by Novo Nordisk and produced in partnership with Baker IDI, Diabetes Australia and the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation.