Partners
The 2kg Challenge is an initiative of the Western Sydney Changing Diabetes collaboration. The collaboration is comprised of: Western Sydney Diabetes, Workers Lifestyle Group, Novo Nordisk and the Western Sydney Primary Health Network.
Why are we so keen on the 2kg Challenge?
Weight gain, especially over the last 20 years, has escalated the type 2 diabetes epidemic.
We live in an environment that creates challenges for people to adopt a healthy lifestyle with a nutritious diet and appropriate regular physical activity that would contribute to reduced risk of diabetes, heart disease, dementia and some cancers.
Challenges for people in Western Sydney include:
- The rising cost of food, including healthy food
- High consumption of less healthy, energy dense food and beverages
- The misconception that diabetes is an inevitable hereditary condition
- Social, cultural and environmental barriers to physical activity, like the lack of trees providing shade for walking or other outdoor physical activities
- People find weight loss hard to maintain
- Type 2 diabetes risk and the potential for risk reduction through relatively minor weight loss has not been communicated
- The built environment and the way foods and beverage are marketed does not support a sustainable a healthy lifestyle that prevents diabetes
- Achieving healthier weight is not an immediate priority
A small amount of weight loss can have a large impact on the health and wellbeing of an individual.
If someone at risk of diabetes loses just 2kg, they reduce their chance of developing diabetes by 30%.
Just a small and sustained weight loss reduces the risk of developing chronic diseases such as diabetes, heart disease and some cancers in addition to lowering blood pressure, cholesterol and blood sugar levels.
