- 300,000 people living in Western Sydney (or ONE-THIRD) have either type 1 or type 2 diabetes.
- BUT preventable and diet-related type 2 diabetes accounts for 85 TO 90 PER CENT OF CASES.
- Experts warn that the public health system will reach breaking point unless we do something soon.
We were shocked to see stats over the weekend that show the rapid rise of type 1 and type 2 diabetes in Western Sydney. And while these overall numbers don’t differentiate between the types, type 2 accounts for up to 90 per cent (compared to the autoimmune disease type 1 diabetes).
Diet-related type 2 demands a huge chunk of the $14.6 billion annual government spend on diabetes, which is estimated to swell to $30 billion by 2025.
The most frightening comment we read? “If we continue to consume too many calories and convert to diabetes, we will have to build factories to cut off people’s toes, feet and limbs and help them when they go blind,” warned Western Sydney Local Health District chief executive Danny O’Connor.
Could this just be fear-mongering? It seems not.
Clinics in Western Sydney now have to order in special 250kg scales for obese patients, leading Mr O’Connor to campaign for drastic action to be taken – including the overhaul of school canteens and a sugar tax.
“Let’s have a conversation about taxing sugary drinks,” he said. “Let’s have a conversation about what’s in school canteens. Let’s have a conversation about the distribution and availability of fresh foods and fast foods, and urban design generally. It’s a conversation we’re at least 10 years too late in having.”
Read more on the shocking stats at The Sydney Morning Herald.
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