KEY POINTS:
Some people call it "the silent assassin", and with more than 180,000 New Zealanders diagnosed with diabetes each year, the message should be loud and clear.
John Denton, general manager of Diabetes New Zealand Auckland, says the deadly disease is the biggest health threat facing the country.
But with minimal funding and not enough education, people aren't seeing the warning signs.
"It's not a visible condition and it's killing far too many New Zealanders," said Denton. "There's a hell of a lot of learning involved in understanding how to manage this pandemic."
As one of six recipients of the Cathay Pacific High Flyers New Zealand Community Awards, Denton hopes the independent organisation can initiate an "aggressive" awareness campaign.
The award means members can attend the International Diabetes Federation Congress in Montreal next October.
"We are hugely grateful that we can go to this convention, which will allow us to access the latest knowledge and research on managing diabetes. It's a huge boost."
About 187,000 Kiwis are diagnosed with diabetes each year. Unmanaged cases are responsible for more than half of all heart attacks and strokes, and two-thirds of cases of blindness.
Type 1 diabetes, which sees the body reject the insulin-manufacturing pancreas, is usually first diagnosed in children or young adults.
Type 2, the most common, can develop at any age from an insulin resistance and is much more likely to strike those who are overweight and inactive.
Denton, 62, was diagnosed with Type 1 diabetes aged 21 and became involved with Diabetes NZ Auckland after searching for support groups.
He became horrified how little was known about it.
"It's a waste in terms of health and a waste of expenditure for a disease that is totally preventable," he says.
"When I was diagnosed I wasn't looking after myself, and I realised for a lot of people to avoid getting diabetes all it involves is eating healthier and doing exercise. It is actually that simple."
The World Health Organisation said that in 1987 30 million people worldwide had the disease. That number surged to 130 million by 2000 and is forecast to top 350 million by 2020.
"That is a twelvefold increase in 30 years, which is a hugely frightening prospect," Denton said.
"We have never had an epidemic where 8 to 10 per cent of the global population is living with a condition that affects their lives like this."
Denton said the lack of adequate management of the condition in New Zealand was a major problem, and organisations such as Diabetes NZ Auckland, which relied on fundraising, were struggling to tackle the problem.
"Especially with the economy like it is now. People are less willing to part with their money for a worthy cause, so having this boost is a huge help."
