Health checks highlight Western Sydney diabetes risk
Health checks at Workers Lifestyle Group’s two Blacktown clubs predict 7.4% of participants will develop type 2 diabetes within five years.
Type 2 diabetes is largely caused by lifestyle factors and Western Sydney is a hotspot for the disease, as 15 months’ data from Blacktown Workers and Workers Sports clearly shows.
The health checks of 4,312 people showed 7.4% were likely to develop diabetes in the next five years (according to the AUSDRISK assessment tool) and 48.7% were at high risk of developing the condition later in life.
SiSU Health Stations have been available at the two clubs since December 2022 as part of the Western Sydney Changing Diabetes campaign.
SiSU Health has compiled the Workers Lifestyle Group report from results up to the end of February.
Almost 31 per cent of the health checks resulted in recommendations that people consult their GPs about high blood pressure and/or high body mass index.
“This shows SiSU health checks, free to our 55,000 members, their guests and our staff, are potentially life-saving,” said Workers Lifestyle Group CEO Morgan Stewart.
“The health checks take 5 minutes, or less, to complete and they’re designed for use by anyone, of any age or background.
“And the really good news is that type 2 diabetes is 80% preventable by early detection and lifestyle changes – losing excess weight, eating healthier, getting more exercise, stopping smoking,” Morgan said.
The SiSU Health report showed a median age of 43 years among the 4,312 participants, 24.5% had high blood pressure (almost 52% had not checked their blood pressure in the previous 12 months), 67.3% were overweight and 16.3% reported they were smokers.
The Workers Lifestyle Group health report is available here.
Workers Lifestyle Group has committed $500,000 over five years to Western Sydney Changing Diabetes, a campaign promoting regular health checks along with healthy diets, cooking and physical activities.
The campaign is a partnership between Workers Lifestyle Group, Western Sydney Diabetes and Novo Nordisk, who have combined forces to reduce the incidence of diabetes in Western Sydney.