Australia’s largest service organisation is on a mission to reduce prevalence of Diabetes

To mark World Diabetes Day this year, Lions Clubs across Australia were on a mission to reduce the prevalence of diabetes and improve the quality of life for those diagnosed with their annual Lap the Map for Diabetes event.

Diabetes is one of the Lions’ key global focus areas with Lions members encouraging those in their community to stay active.

Lions volunteers across the country put on their walking shoes with the aim to have a combined distance travelled that exceeds Australia’s circumference (25,760 kms) by World Diabetes Day.

This year, Lions not only lapped the map once, but reported a combined distance of 261,704 kms, over 10 times the distance of Australia’s circumference.

National Diabetes Coordinator Pat Mills says this is an incredible result for Diabetes awareness.

“The ‘Lions Lap the Map’ family friendly walks and campaigns in the community encourage people to get outside and have a walk to promote a healthy lifestyle and raise awareness of the Diabetes epidemic in Australia.”

“Across Australia 1.3 million people have been diagnosed with Diabetes and 283 people are diagnosed every day,” says Pat.

“The disease can lead to serious health issues affecting the heart and blood vessels, eyes, kidneys, nerves and teeth. In most high-income countries, Diabetes is a leading cause of cardiovascular disease, blindness, kidney failure, and lower limb amputation. It’s expected to affect 629 million adults by 2045.”

“With more people working from home and more communities living with tighter social restrictions since COVID-19, it’s more important than ever for Australians to stay active and healthy so we encourage people to get involved in our Lap the Map activities,” she adds.

See all the photos from Lap the Map for Diabetes 2022 on Facebook here.