Increasing Rates of Type 2 Diabetes

Running head: INCREASING RATES OF TYPE 2 DIABETES
Justice and Change in a Global World
-Increasing rates of Type 2 Diabetes
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1INCREASING RATES OF TYPE 2 DIABETES
Introduction:
Diabetes is a disease that causes an abnormal increase in blood sugar level
(hyperglycemia) to an extent that it causes interference with normal functioning of the body.
Diabetes type 2 is caused when the body is unable to use insulin properly causing improper
regulation of blood sugar levels. This phenomenon is called insulin resistance where the cells
do not react to the presence of insulin in blood, thereby increasing the blood sugar levels
(Nolan et al, 2015).
Background to the problem and its relation to the discipline:
Globally the incidence of type 2 diabetes is rapidly increasing. According to World
Health Organization, the number of people diagnosed of type 2 diabetes increased from 108
million in 1980 to 422 million in 2014. In adults the incidents rose from 4.7% tp 8.5% in the
same period. In 2016 alone about 1.6 million deaths occurred due to type 2 diabetes ( World
Health Organization, 2016). In Australia almost 6% of the adults (1.2 million people are
diagnosed with type 2 diabetes every year). In 2013, 15,100 deaths have occurred due to
diabetes amounting to 10% of all deaths that year (Skinner et al., 2016).
The rates are especially higher in socioeconomically disadvantages and remote
communities such as several indigenous communities. Studies show that the indigenous
people and individuals living in socioeconomically disadvantages communities are 3.5 and
3.6 times more likely to suffer from type 2 diabetes compared to non indigenous Australians.
According to some estimates almost one out of every 8 Indigenous Australian adult has type
2 diabetes and his higher among the females than males (Hill et al., 2017; Rankin et al.,
2016).

2INCREASING RATES OF TYPE 2 DIABETES
Type 2 diabetes can be caused due to several factors such as genetic predisposition,
obesity, and metabolic syndrome. However, obesity is one of the most significant causes of
type 2 diabetes. Type 2 diabetes can significantly impact the health and wellbeing of people
and increase risks of several, chronic health conditions such as high blood pressure, terminal
neuropathy, retinopathy, and liver and pancreatic dysfunction, kidney damage, and stroke,
heart attack and foot ulcers (Nolan et al., 2015). Therefore a high incidence of type 2 diabetes
shows a lower state of wellbeing of the community. Moreover, the higher incidence of type 2
diabetes among the indigenous communities and among the females highlights a health gap
between them. This health gap is a significant disadvantage against the common good (Nanri
et al., 2015; Cochran, 1999).
Challenges associated with the achievement of common good:
Some of the biggest challenges to mitigate the problem of type to diabetes and
maintain common good of the Australian citizen are discussed below:
Unhealthy diet: One of the biggest risk factors of diabetes as well as obesity is an unhealthy
diet, characterized by too much intake of sugar and fats and too little intake of dietary fibers.
Sedentary Lifestyle: A lack of proper physical exercise and sedentary lifestyle is another
significant risk factor for diabetes as well as obesity.
Obesity: This has been associated with a high risk of diabetes as the excess accumulation of
fat can cause insulin resistance, causing type 2 diabetes.
Smoking: This is considered to be a lifestyle risk that can increase the risk fo obesity and
diabetes.
Remoteness: Studies have shown that remoteness of the communities can reduce access to
healthcare services and thus increase the risks of several diseases including diabetes.