Diabetes hits Australian aborigines

MELBOURNE, Nov. 13 (UPI) -- Australian Indigenous communities are facing a crisis due to the rapid rise in cases of diabetes 2.

Speaking at the opening of a 3-day conference on diabetes among aboriginal people, Health Minister Tony Abbott said it is estimated that 1-in-5 Indigenous Australians has diabetes.

Abbott blamed changes in the lifestyle of aborigines for the diabetes problem.

He said, "What we've seen is this shuddering collision between rich food and sedentary lifestyle which has affected Indigenous people perhaps more dramatically than any other people in the world."