This Can't Happen To Me!: Tackling Type 2 diabetes

Tim Bowden

Jun 2004 · Allen & Unwin

About this ebook

Diabetes is out of control - it's the world's fastest growing chronic disease. In Australia alone, more than 1,500 people are diagnosed every week and diabetes is the sixth highest contributing cause of death. The majority of Australians with diabetes - 90 per cent - have Type 2 diabetes.

That's the bad news but, as author, broadcaster and raconteur Tim Bowden found, there is also good news. Eating healthy foods which are low in saturated fats, having more fruit and vegetables, being physically more active and cutting down on alcohol, can help to delay or prevent the onset of debilitating complications and a premature death.

This can't happen to me! was Tim's incredulous reaction when his doctor diagnosed him with Type 2 diabetes during an ordinary medical check up. Diabetes was something that other people had, not him. But Tim had to get used to it, and quickly.

Here Tim shares everything he learnt, from mastering the daily blood glucose level testing to ways of changing diet and lifestyle. He speaks to other people with Type 2 diabetes, both well-known names and ordinary people, and their stories are included. Some are managing well but others have their heads in the sand where their health is concerned. Tim also interviews doctors, dieticians and specialists to give as much information and support as possible.

Written in Tim Bowden's friendly, informative and accessible style, This can't happen to me! is invaluable not only for those with Type 2 diabetes, their families, carers and health professionals, but for all of us at risk of developing this insidious, deadly disease.

About the author

Tim Bowden has an enviable reputation as broadcaster and author. A household name through his long-running ABC-TV viewer reaction program Backchat, all his books have been best sellers, from his first-war related Changi Photographer and One Crowded Hour, to reminiscence and history with The Way My Father Tells It and The Silence Calling. More recently he has written travel books in his on-going Penelope series, and his autobiography Spooling Through - An Irreverent Memoir, was published in 2003.

Tim Bowden was diagnosed with Type 2 diabetes in November 2002. In 2003, he broadcast a series of five radio programs on the ABC's Health Report tracking his progress in understanding and coming to terms with diabetes. That led to a wider examination of diabetes in Australia, with his latest book This can't happen to me!: Tackling Type 2 diabetes, published in July 2004.