The unstoppable Australian obesity and diabetes juggernaut. What should politicians do?

Zimmet, Paul Z; James, W Philip T

doi:10.5694/j.1326-5377.2006.tb00527.x

Topics

Health professionals must create the climate to force politicians to act

Australia is in the throes of an unprecedented epidemic of diabetes and obesity. The Australian Diabetes, Obesity and Lifestyle (AusDiab) study found that a million Australians are affected by diabetes, and it provided vital data on Australia’s obesity epidemic.1 Obesity is a driving force behind type 2 diabetes, which has cardiovascular and other complications, such as renal failure and blindness.

1 International Diabetes Institute, Melbourne, VIC.
2 International Obesity Taskforce, London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, London, UK.

Correspondence: pzimmet@idi.org.au

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