Today, we celebrated National Diabetes Week (in Blue) with a focus on raising awareness in the workplace for Type 1 Diabetes (T1D). We labelled all the food with the amount of carbs per serving. Two of our team members have T1D, which is rather rare since T1D accounts for 10% of all diabetes in Australia, around 130 000 Australians (source: Diabetes; Australian Facts, AIWH).
About 8 people are diagnosed with T1D each day, in total 300 Australians develop diabetes everyday in Australia (source: Diabetes in Australia, Diabetes Australia).
T1D is a lifelong condition that occurs when the cells of the pancreas are destroyed by the body’s immune system and is unable to produce any insulin. People with T1D manage the condition with ongoing insulin treatment and carefully monitor their carbohydrate intake.
JDRF Australia reports that 90% of people living with T1D have no family history of the condition, though having a family history increases the risk..
The good news is: Diabetes Australia has announced a new funding program to support research into life-changing diabetes technologies. “We will be investing seed funding of $250,000 in this research funding program that will create real solutions for people living with diabetes,” said Diabetes Australia Group CEO Justine Cain.