Calls for more community programs combating rising type 2 diabetes in Western Sydney

Australia Broadcast Center

5 days ago

Kelly Anderson's life fell apart when she suddenly lost her daughter in 2017.
She stopped leaving the house, started eating unhealthy food and rapidly gained weight.
"I was in a really dark place," she said.
The Dhungatti and Gumbaynggirr woman sought advice from a doctor after finding a lump in her breast, which was ultimately deemed benign, but the GP delivered a searing reality check.
She was diagnosed with high cholesterol and blood pressure, bursitis, chronic pain and type 2 pre-diabetes.
"I was 151 kilos, I was morbidly obese … I was really lucking out," Ms Anderson said.
A counsellor from Indigenous health service Marrin Weejali in Mount Druitt recommended she reach out to exercise physiologist Ray Kelly, who runs community lifestyle program Too Deadly for Diabetes.
At that point, Ms Anderson could barely walk around her local park without losing her breath.
"It took me maybe 30 to 45 minutes to walk around the park, I had to stop every 10 to 20 metres," she recalled.
Mr Kelly remembers meeting Ms Anderson for the first time.
Mr Kelly runs the 10-week lifestyle program that promotes nutrition, exercise and practical steps to lowering blood glucose levels.
The program targets Indigenous people with diabetes in NSW, recently other remote regions, and is typically facilitated through a local medical centre.
"When people first come to us there's a bit of fatalism around their diabetes or their health in general," Mr Kelly said.
Type 2 diabetes is the most prevalent chronic disease in Australia and one of the largest health challenges facing Western Sydney.
One in 10 adults have been diagnosed with the disease in the western suburbs, costing the state about $1.8 billion a year according to NSW Health.
Factors like lifestyle, diet and cultural and family markers play a role, as well as limited access to affordable and healthy food.
But advocates believe a lack of community exercise programs is also contributing to the issue.
"We know that the rates of diabetes in Blacktown is twice as high as it is in Mosman," Western Sydney Diabetes director Glen Maberly said.
"It's related to the fact that people are unable to get out there and do as much physical activity, there's more car driving … there is a higher concentration of fast food outlets."
A federal parliamentary inquiry into diabetes last year made 23 recommendations, including expanding efforts to increase exercise in neighbourhoods.
None of the recommendations are yet to be implemented and no additional funding was allocated towards research or prevention in this year's federal budget.
"Whilst measures to reduce the cost of medicines and increase bulk-billing were welcome, there is simply not enough being done to curb the alarming growth in numbers of people living with diabetes," CEO of Diabetes Australia Justine Cain said in a statement.
Ms Anderson believes the exercise and diet plan, combined with the emotional support Mr Kelly's program provided, ultimately saved her life.
She found a love in exercise, particularly boxing, and her GP said she no longer has type 2 pre-diabetes.
"I followed the meal plan, and in that first week I was like, should I just stay morbidly obese," she joked.
"Losing my daughter was my biggest motivation of turning my life around and improving my health.
"She doesn't get to live out the rest of her life, but I have an opportunity to do that."