More than 1.3 billion people are predicted to have diabetes by 2050

Experts say it's a global crisis

Diabetes is a global crisis with cases increasingly rapidly. Image: iStock

It's believed close to two million Australians live with diabetes - and that number will continue to grow, putting enormous strain on not only our health system but the world's, experts say.

Diabetes is a global crisis with cases increasing rapidly. The result? Lasting effects on global health for generations to come, scientists claim.

“More than 1.31 billion people could be living with diabetes by 2050 worldwide,”  The Lancet reports as part of their Series on Global Inequity in Diabetes.

“That's 1.31 billion people living with a disease that causes life-altering morbidity, high rates of mortality, and interacts with and exacerbates many other diseases,” the report adds.

Like what you see? Sign up to our bodyandsoul.com.au newsletter for more stories like this.

What’s more, the global spending on supporting people suffering from diabetes is huge. The report estimates that the Type 2 diabetes drugs market alone will cost $1054 billion US by 2045.

According to the Australian Institute of Health and Welfare, in 2020 an estimated one in 20 Australians were living with diabetes. That’s almost 1.3 million people. The Institute says those figures don’t accommodate those living undiagnosed.

Diabetes Australia believes the true total of Aussies living with the disease is closer to 2 million. “Diabetes is the epidemic of the 21st century and the biggest challenge confronting Australia’s health system,” the organisation claims.

On an episode of Body+Soul’s daily podcast Healthy-ish, world-renowned sports physician, Dr Peter Brukner said that 90 per cent of diabetes cases in Australia come from Type 2 diabetes, which is largely preventable with the right lifestyle choices.

Making healthy lifestyle choices can help reduce your chances of Type 2 diabetes. Image: Getty

“Type 2 diabetes, like Type 1, also results in high blood sugar levels, but the problem is that you have these high levels of circulating blood sugar, which damages the arteries and a whole lot of different structures is in the body,” he explained.

“With Type 2 diabetes you still produce insulin, but your body becomes resistant to the effect of insulin and you need to pump out more and more insulin and it doesn't work as well. So you still have these high blood sugars.”

Historically, diabetes was a mature illness, but these days it’s affecting more and more younger people. Once again, this is due to lifestyle factors like poor diet, lack of exercise, smoking and heavy alcohol consumption.

“There is a slight genetic component to it, but it does seem to be a lot more what we call a lifestyle disease,” Dr Brukner explained on the episode. “It's really those two components - poor diet and lack of exercise - that are the two big risk factors for Type 2 diabetes and so many other chronic diseases that are so prevalent in our society at the moment.”

The weight of this “global crisis” on our health system, in some cases, is completely avoidable. If people knew how rough the complications from Type 2 diabetes were, perhaps we’d see the numbers go down.

“Type two diabetes, I believe, is the biggest single health problem in this country. It's the most common cause of blindness. It's the most common cause of amputations, the most common cause of kidney disease. It's the most common risk factor for heart disease. It's closely linked to dementia and Alzheimer's,” Dr Brukner said.

Complications from Type 2 diabetes

• Deteriorating eyesight
• Poor kidney function
• Heart problems
• Poor circulation in the legs
• Leg ulcers
• Increased thirst
• Increased hunger
• Frequent urination
• Numbness or tingling in hand or feet
• Fatigue
• Darkened skin around armpits or neck
• Death

Originally published as More than 1.3 billion people are predicted to have diabetes by 2050