Six Things to Know and Six Things to Do to Help Prevent Diabetes

Dubbed the “epidemic of the 21^st century”, diabetes is a major health concern in Australia affecting 1.9 million Australians, the impact of which costs the country an estimated $17.6 billion per year.¹

It’s the seventh most deadly disease in Australia, yet some forms can often be prevented through lifestyle choices¹, so let’s take a look at six essential facts about the disease and six steps you can take that may help you avoid falling prey to it.​

Six things you should know about diabetes

1. Diabetes refers to a group of diseases

Diabetes mellitus, known simply as diabetes, is a group of diseases where the body can’t make enough insulin (an essential hormone), or can’t use it properly to move glucose from your blood into your cells for energy, leading to too much sugar in the blood (hyperglycaemia). Uncontrolled, diabetes can lead to blindness, limb amputations, heart disease, and kidney disease.^1,2

Pre-diabetes is diagnosed when the blood glucose levels are higher than normal, but not high enough for a diagnosis of diabetes. ²

2. The difference between type 1 and type 2 diabetes

Type 1 diabetes is an autoimmune condition occurring in 134,000 Australians¹ where the pancreas doesn’t produce insulin. It usually starts in childhood with a sudden onset and always requires lifelong insulin therapy. It has no known cause or cure.

Typed 2 diabetes is the most common type, affecting 1.3 million Australians.¹ This type develops over time when the body doesn’t make enough insulin, or the insulin that is produced doesn’t work effectively. While risk factors include age, family history, being a smoker, and ethnicity, almost 60 per cent of all cases of type 2 diabetes can be delayed or prevented with changes to diet and lifestyle.^1,2

3. Gestational diabetes affects about one in six pregnancies

Gestational diabetes happens when a woman has high blood glucose levels during pregnancy. It occurs in about one in six pregnancies and is the fastest growing type of diabetes in Australia.¹

The most common risk factors are being above a healthy weight range, gaining too much weight in the first half of pregnancy, being pregnant over the age of 35, and your ethnic background, including people of Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander descent. It can be detected with a routine screening test between 24 and 28 weeks of pregnancy.³

While the condition usually disappears after the baby is born, its occurrence can indicate a higher risk of type 2 diabetes developing later in life.¹

4. Common symptoms of diabetes

Common symptoms of diabetes are²:

• Being frequently very thirsty or hungry
• Frequent itchy skin or skin infections
• Finding cuts take longer to heal than they used to
• Unexplained weight changes (weight loss for type 1 diabetes, weight gain for type 2 diabetes)
• Blurred vision
• Urinating more often than usual
• Feeling more tired than usual

While type 1 diabetes is often identified quickly because the symptoms can appear suddenly, type 2 diabetes can go undetected for a long time because the symptoms don’t show at all or go unnoticed. ²

Is you’re unsure if you have symptoms, or if you’re at higher risk, see your doctor or your local IPA Pharmacist who can advise you.

5. Type 2 diabetes affects all ages

While type 2 diabetes usually develops later and more gradually, often in people over 45, in Australia it’s increasingly prevalent in younger people, including children.⁴ The cause is usually lifestyle factors like poor diet and lack of exercise, though the risk is higher in people with a family history of the condition, or from particular ethnic backgrounds, including Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islanders, and people from the Pacific Islands, the Indian subcontinent, or a Chinese cultural background.⁴

6. Early detection is crucial

Type 2 diabetes can go undetected for years because many people don’t have any symptoms at first. The first sign may be a complication of the condition like a heart attack, vision problems, or a wound that doesn’t heal properly.⁴

So even if you have no symptoms, you should ask your doctor to check your risk of type 2 diabetes every three years from the age of 40.⁵ While there is currently no cure, early diagnosis and intervention can prevent or delay the development of complications like cardiovascular disease, kidney failure, and vision loss.⁴

Your local IPA Pharmacist can help with blood glucose testing, and with portable glucose monitors to screen for diabetes, which may help determine if you need further medical evaluation.

Six things you can do to help avoid diabetes

Because type 1 diabetes is an autoimmune condition with no known cause or cure, and gestational diabetes requires a pregnancy-specific approach, we’ll focus in this section on type 2 diabetes.

Research indicates that almost 60% of type 2 diabetes cases can be prevented or delayed through lifestyle modifications.^{1, 4} (Some of these lifestyle factors may also play a role in preventing and managing gestational diabetes, like weight management, a healthy diet, and regular moderate exercise.^{1, 3})

1. Manage your weight

Maintaining a healthy weight is one of the most effective ways to reduce the risk of type 2 diabetes. Especially avoid carrying a lot of extra weight around your waist.⁶ Losing just 5% to 10% of your body weight if you’re overweight or obese can significantly improve your blood sugar control.⁵

2. Engage in regular physical activity

Aim for at least 30 minutes of moderate-intensity exercise, such as brisk walking, on most days of the week. Regular physical activity supports weight management and can help reduce insulin resistance and blood glucose levels, which will lower your risk of developing diabetes and improve your management of the condition if you have it.⁷

3. Have a healthy diet

A healthy diet is a crucial aspect of weight control and reducing the consequential diabetes risk. And it needn’t be complicated. It’s a matter of eating from the five food groups every day, in appropriate amounts, and drinking plenty of water.^8,9

Each of the five food groups contains essential ingredients for good health:

• Vegetables and legumes/beans
• Fruit
• Wholegrains like breads, cereals, pasta, and rice
• Lean red meat, fish, poultry, tofu, and nuts
• Milk, yoghurt, cheese, or calcium-fortified plant

The amount you should eat will vary during your lifetime and what’s right for you now will depend on factors such as your age, your gender, whether you’re growing, and whether you’re pregnant or breastfeeding. Visit the Nutrition Australia¹⁰ website for information on dietary guidelines and standard serves, and the Healthline¹¹ website for some useful tips on portion control.

There’s no one size fits all, and, if you’re not sure what’s right for you or want advice, it may be worth talking to a qualified health professional specialised in diet and nutrition. Your local IPA Pharmacist will be able to point you in the right direction.

4. Avoid smoking

Quitting smoking cuts your risk of developing type 2 diabetes by 30–40% according to the World Health Organisation.¹²

There is also evidence to suggest that effects of second-hand smoke increases the risk of developing type 2 diabetes and gestational diabetes.¹³ So think twice before you light up! And speak to your IPA Pharmacist or one of their team members if you’re a smoker and want help giving up.

5. Monitor your blood pressure

High blood pressure (hypertension) and diabetes often occur together, perhaps because the two conditions share a number of common causes and risk factors, and because high blood sugar levels damages cells in the cardiovascular system.^{14, 15}

A person who has one of these conditions is at an increased risk of developing the other, and if a person has both conditions, each condition may worsen the other.¹⁵

So it’s important to monitor your blood pressure and be aware that high blood pressure puts you at increased risk of diabetes. Many IPA Pharmacies offer a blood pressure monitoring service, so visit yours for a check-up regularly, or see your doctor.

6. Access a diabetes prevention program or service

Diabetes Australia has a list of Australian diabetes prevention programs and services on their website¹⁶, which may help you establish a lifestyle to minimise your chances of developing diabetes.

Click here to visit the Diabetes Australia website, and/or call into your local IPA Pharmacy where a Pharmacist or team member can advise and guide you.

Who are IPA Pharmacists?

IPA Pharmacists are part of Australia’s largest network of independent pharmacies. They offer personalised healthcare and expertise in medicines. They specialise in various health aspects, such as sleep and diabetes, and are dedicated to supporting your wellness journey. With a network of over 1,100 pharmacies and growing, an IPA pharmacy near you is ready to provide exceptional advice, services, and products to enhance your health outcomes.

References:

1. Diabetes in Australia – Diabetes Australia
2. Diabetes – healthdirect.gov.au
3. Gestational diabetes – healthdirect.gov.au
4. Type 2 diabetes – Diabetes Australia
5. Type 2 diabetes – healthdirect.gov.au
6. Diabetes: Australian facts-High waist circumference – Australian Institute of Health and Welfare
7. Exercise and Diabetes – Diabetes Australia
8. A balanced diet – healthdirect.gov.au
9. Healthy diet for diabetes – Diabetes Australia
10. Australian Dietary Guidelines: Standard serves – Nutrition Australia
11. 9 Tips to Measure and Control Portion Sizes – Healthline
12. Quitting smoking – World Health Organisation
13. Diabetes: Australian facts-Smoking – Australian Institute of Health and Welfare
14. Diabetes: Australian facts-High blood pressure – Australian Institute of Health and Welfare
15. The link between diabetes and hypertension – Medical News Today
16. Prevention programs and services – Diabetes Australia