Glenroy’s Logan Young was seven when she was diagnosed with type 1 diabetes.
She says she remembers the doctors and nurses telling her that “lots of people get diabetes”.
While there are about 7200 children living with type 1 diabetes in Australia, they often do not meet others who have the condition.
So Logan loved meeting 50 other eight- and nine-year-olds living with diabetes at a recent camp at Warburton.
“It was new for me and it was good to meet other kids with diabetes and learn that I was not alone,” Logan said.
“But the best part of the camp was the big flying fox, and I got to pat a donkey.”
According to the International Diabetes Federation, the only way to stem the rise of diabetes is awareness of what it will take to reduce the impact of the disease.
The federation says diabetes has increased in most countries where there have been rapid cultural and social changes, such as ageing populations, increasing urbanisation, dietary changes, reduced physical activity and unhealthy behaviours.
There are two main types of diabetes, type 1 being one of the most chronic childhood conditions and the fastest-growing chronic problem among young Australians.
It is managed with insulin injections several times a day (or an insulin pump).
Type 2 diabetes occurs when the pancreas makes some insulin but not enough for the body to work properly.
Melbourne’s north has one of the highest rates of diabetes in Australia, in large part due to its diverse cultural profile.
People from culturally and linguistically diverse backgrounds have a higher prevalence of diabetes and higher rates of diabetes-related hospitalisations and mortality rates than people born in Australia.
The increased risk of type 2 diabetes in such communities is associated with both genetic inheritance and environmental and lifestyle factors. The risk of developing diabetes goes up when combined with conditions such as high blood pressure, being overweight or obese, insufficient physical activity, poor diet and the classic “apple shape” body, with extra weight carried around the waist.
For more details about diabetes, visit: www.diabetesvic.org.au
