Diabetes - a Lions Global Cause
Diabetes awareness and support
Globally 1 in 11 adults has Diabetes (1 in 15 in Australia), but even more surprising is that 50% of the people with Type 2 Diabetes are unaware they have the disease.
463 million people around the globe suffer from Diabetes, and this figure is expected to rise to 700 million within twenty years! 4.2 million deaths were attributed to Diabetes in 2018!
Click here for a Fact Sheet for Australia, New Zealand and the South Pacific.
There are two types of diabetes:
- Type 1 Diabetes is an autoimmune system condition that is commonly detected at a young age. The cause is unknown, and there is no cure or it cannot be prevented. People with Type 1 Diabetes have to learn to manage their condition, and they have it for their lifetime. Type 1 Diabetes accounts for 10-15% of all cases of Diabetes.
- Type 2 Diabetes is a condition in which the body becomes resistant to the normal effects of insulin and gradually loses the capacity to produce enough insulin in the pancreas. It does have some genetic causes, but sufferers may be able to significantly slow or even halt the progression of the condition through changes to diet and increasing the amount of physical activity they do. Type 2 Diabetes accounts for 85-90% of all cases of Diabetes.
Lions in District 201V5 and diabetes:
One of our main Diabetes Awareness campaigns take place in October and November each year in the lead up to International Diabetes Day (which is November 14th each year). It is called “Lap the Map”. Lions from around Australia with friends walk and record how far they have walked. These Australia-wide figures are collated to see how many laps of Australia we can walk in total. These walks are conducted in conjunction with Diabetes Awareness events, and blood glucose testing.
The following clubs took part in Lap the Map 2021 – Beaumaris, Blackburn, Box Hill, Chelsea …….