One of the big challenges surrounding the type 2 diabetes epidemic is tackling the inter-generational cycle of the disease.

What do we mean by the inter-generational cycle? When someone develops type 2 diabetes it can cause changes in the body that may increase their children’s risk of developing type 2 diabetes which, in turn, increases their children’s children’s risk of developing type 2 diabetes.

Sometimes it seems like the biggest challenge is not losing weight but keeping it off.

Associate Professor Craig Phillips from the University of Sydney suggests that one of the culprits may be sleep apnoea and that by treating the common condition people may be able to keep the weight off.

We sit at work. We sit at home. We sit in the car. We sit down to eat. We sit at in front of the tv. We sit at the movies. It is clear we spend a lot of our lives sitting. But, as plenty of new research seems to confirm, all this sitting is not be good for us.

One thing researchers have learnt is that prolonged sitting is associated with sustained higher blood glucose levels which, over time, can contribute to the development of a range of diabetes-related complications.

Diabetes Australia’s President, the Hon. Judi Moylan, was recently appointed to the new Council of the National Health and Medical Research Council (NHRMC).

The Council is an advisory body supporting the NHMRC’s critical national role in shaping and supporting research to address Australia’s current and future health challenge.

Heart disease is one of the leading health issues faced by people with diabetes. However, researchers believe that high density lipoproteins (HDL), sometimes referred to as good cholesterol, could help protect the heart.

Dr Joanne Tan from the South Australian Health and Medical Research Institute is looking at whether HDL can help with angiogenesis, the process of forming new blood vessels from pre-existing blood vessels.

Peripheral neuropathy, the damage to nerves in hands and feet, is one of the most common diabetes-related complications but one side-effect people may be unaware of is the fact that peripheral neuropathy makes it harder for people to maintain their balance. This can make them susceptible to falls.

Now Dr Anna Hatton, from the University of Queensland, is leading a study into whether a textured shoe insole could help improve people’s balance.