Western Sydney is a diabetes hotspot with half of the population overweight and at risk. People who live in Western Sydney are twice as likely to have diabetes than people living in Sydney’s Eastern or Northern suburbs. They are even at higher risk if they are Aboriginal, Torres Strait Islander, Asian, Middle Eastern or from the Indian subcontinent or the Pacific Islands.
We live in an environment that creates challenges for people to adopt a healthy lifestyle including the rising cost of food, often resulting in the high consumption of less healthy, energy dense options. Social, cultural and environmental barriers can limit physical activity, such as the lack of trees providing shade for walking or other outdoor physical activities.
There is often a misconception that diabetes is an inevitable hereditary condition, however just two kilograms of sustained weight loss can lower the risk of type 2 diabetes by 30%.
The 2kg Challenge is a community initiative from the Western Sydney Changing Diabetes collaboration comprised of Western Sydney Diabetes, Western Sydney Primary Health Network, Workers Lifestyle Group and Novo Nordisk. The challenge is a diabetes awareness, detection and prevention campaign that aims to empower people to reduce their risk of developing type 2 diabetes and other serious conditions such as heart disease, dementia and some cancers by doing regular exercise and making healthy food choices. By joining the 2kg Challenge, participants can also gain access to exclusive offers and events.
People can visit the 2kg Challenge website to sign up and learn more.
This information is correct as of 18 July 2024.