Australia facing a diabetes epidemic

The Federal Health Minister of Australia, a Mr. Tony Abbott has called for an urgent cultural change in the way Australians lead their lives. A new study has revealed that 100,000 adults are currently developing the disease every year in Australia, with 275 new diabetics a day.
Australia is traditionally thought of as a bastion of outdoor living, good diet, constant exercise and health. However, the figures released by Mr. Abbott indicate otherwise. He unveiled statistics collated by the IDI (International Diabetes Institute), that portray a very different Australia, in the grip of a diabetes ‘epidemic.’
Apparently obesity, bad diet and inactivity were all cultural indicators of the alarming surge in diabetes cases. One expert at the head of the IDI called the findings a ‘red alert’ for ordinary Australians and the healthcare system. Already, apparently, the diabetes epidemic is costing the taxpaying public over $3 billion per year. Lifestyle factors were reported as driving the epidemic.
The news comes following reports of rising obesity levels in New Zealand last week, and it seems that few countries are escaping an epidemic rooted in obesity. The deputy director of IDI was reported as saying that “inexorable rise in (people’s) weight” lies at the heart of the problem.