• There are over 25,000 Tasmanians diagnosed with diabetes
  • 7 Tasmanians develop the disease every day
  • Diabetes is incurable
  • Managed correctly people living with diabetes can lead normal lives
  • If left undiagnosed or incorrectly managed diabetes can cause severe health complications
  • In 2003, the countries with most people with diabetes were:
    • India (40.8 million), China (39.8 million), the United States (21 million), Russia (9.7 million) and Japan (6.7 million)
    • Nauru (30.2%), United Arab Emirates (20.1%), Kuwait (12.8%) and Tonga (12.4%) are the countries with the highest diabetes prevalence in the adult population.
  • Everybody is at risk of developing diabetes
    • family history, age, excess weight, lack of exercise and bad dietary habits all contribute to the onset of diabetes.
    • being overweight considerably increases the risk of developing diabetes (80% of people with type 2 diabetes are either overweight or obese).
  • 50% of people who have diabetes are unaware of it
  • There are two basic forms of diabetes:
    • type 1 diabetes most frequently affects children and adolescents and accounts for approximately 5 to 10% of all diabetes.
    • type 2 is by far the most common form of diabetes and occurs primarily in adults, although it is now affecting children and young adults to a greater extent. It accounts for approximately 90 to 95% of all diabetes.