Poor, rural areas have diabetes rates up to five times (!) higher than wealthy, urban places This gets even worse when we look at ethnicity and other cultural barriers 15/
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(FYI, that graph technically shows total number of GDM pregnancies, but the number of pregnant women has only grown by about 20% since 2002 so it represents a >2x increase in the rate) 26/
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Remember: gestational diabetes may be transitory (by definition), but the effects are not Women with gestational diabetes are more likely to develop type 2 diabetes. The same is true of their children This makes the problem intergenerational 27/pic.twitter.com/d5493Pyslq
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Even if we intervene today, reduce everyone's weight by 4kg in the next year, we'll still likely see diabetes rates continue to climb for some time yet 28/
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But, there is hope! At the individual level, there are numerous ways to prevent, and even reverse, diabetes 29/pic.twitter.com/oEFlega5IZ
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We've now seen several trials show that, if you have type 2 diabetes, you can reverse the disease and go into 'remission' by losing 8-15kg of weight 30/
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Similarly, if you have pre-diabetes - an intermediate stage where between normal blood sugar and diabetes - you can reduce your risk of getting diabetes significantly with just a few kilos of weight-loss 31/pic.twitter.com/cEzilctsce
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From a population perspective, there are proven effective interventions focused on providing a health environment that can reduce the risk of diabetes for everyone 32/pic.twitter.com/fQJL8fZaea
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These include things like a sugar tax, improved active transport (like cycling!), reducing barriers to healthy eating, and more 33/
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Ultimately, a strategy focused on the individual AND society is vital to reverse the trend in diabetes that we are seeing emerge 34/
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What can you do? 1. Advocate for change 2. Find local groups and work with/support them 3. Talk to healthcare providers about setting personal goals 4. ADVOCATE FOR CHANGE 35/
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Our diabetes problem has been 30 years in the making It will not be solved overnight But the only way we can make a dent is if everyone - from you to the politicians who represent you - cares enough to do things differently 36/
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Some useful resources
#WorldDiabetesDay WHO - http://www.who.int/news-room/fact-sheets/detail/diabetes … Diabetes Australia - https://www.diabetesaustralia.com.au/ Western Sydney Diabetes - https://www.westernsydneydiabetes.com.au/ AIHW Report - https://www.aihw.gov.au/reports/diabetes/diabetes-snapshot/contents/how-many-australians-have-diabetes … Global Estimate of Diabetes -https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/24300018Show this thread -
Oh also - if you think you might be at risk of diabetes, or are worried about anything you read here, have a chat with your GP You might need a test, you might not, but your doctor is the best place to go!
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