Australians are not eating enough vegetables and now there’s a diabetes epidemic
93% of adults didn't eat enough veggies in the last year.
An astronomically high number of Australian adults don't consume the recommended amounts of fruit and veggies, a key indicator in the development of diabetes.
These findings were drawn from the Australian Institute of Health and Welfare's (AIHW) recently published statistics on diabetes indicators. The data covers risk factors and diabetes-related complications.
According to the research, 93% of Australian adults had inadequate vegetable consumption in 2014-15. While these rates have remained relatively stable since 2007–08, the figure is alarmingly high.
One-in-two adults (51%) didn't consume enough fruit in the last 12 months and two-in-three adults (66%) did little to no exercise over the same period.
Almost two-thirds of Australian adults (63%) were overweight or obese in 2014-15.
However, the rate of obesity among Aussie adults rose 13% between 2007–08 and 2011–12 (24% to 27%) but has remained stable since then (28% in 2014–15).
The prevalence of cardiovascular disease among people with diabetes rose sharply, up from 52% in 2011–12 to 61% in 2014–15.
The incidence rates of Aussies contracting Type 1 diabetes has remained relatively stable over the last 15 years, fluctuating between 11 and 13 new cases per 100,000 people each year. There's currently no data available on the incidence of Type 2 diabetes.
Earlier this year, the World Health Organisation (WHO) dropped a bombshell, revealing 422 million people around the world suffered from diabetes. This represents an increase of almost 125% since 1980.
Healthy eating has often been marred by the assumption that it is more costly and uninspiring. To combat this myth, we've compiled an A-Z on how you can eat well for cheap.
And if that's not enough motivation, we scoured the net to find the eight best sites to buy healthy food online.
Does your health insurance cover diabetes? Compare the benefits offered to diabetics from Australian health funds using our comprehensive guide.
Picture: Shutterstock
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