Pioneering research in Pacific and Indian Ocean populations was critical in both the global prediction of the current diabetes epidemic and demonstration of the profound impact of lifestyle change on type 2 diabetes.
In 1975, researchers from the International Diabetes Institute — which later merged with the Baker Institute — began a study on the small Micronesian island of Nauru in the Pacific Ocean. What they found was extraordinary: the highest recorded national prevalence of diabetes anywhere in the world.
It was the beginning of a global story. Across six Pacific nations, patterns emerged that pointed to something bigger: a diabetes epidemic in the making, driven by rapid industrialisation, urbanisation and the lifestyle changes they brought. To understand how this would play out across different ethnic groups, researchers turned to Mauritius — a country whose multi-ethnic population of Asian Indians, Chinese and Creoles represented two-thirds of the world's population in miniature.
The data gathered from successive studies in Mauritius proved invaluable to the World Health Organisation and International Diabetes Federation, providing the global estimates that underpinned prevention strategies around the world.
Closer to home, this work led to the establishment of the Australian Diabetes, Obesity and Lifestyle Study (AusDiab) — the largest national study of glucose tolerance testing in any developed country. AusDiab revealed that over one million Australians had diabetes, and that half were undiagnosed. It elevated diabetes as a critical public health issue and continues to provide benchmark data for Australian researchers and health authorities today.
