* Type 1, or juvenile, diabetes is a serious, chronic disease that destroys the body's ability to produce insulin, a hormone needed to convert food into energy.
* It usually begins in childhood or early adulthood, but can occur at any age.
* People with type 1 diabetes need up to six insulin injections every day for the rest of their lives, just to stay alive.
* Type 1 diabetes is not caused by and can't be managed by diet or lifestyle.
* It can cause serious and devastating long-term health complications such as blindness, kidney failure, heart disease, amputations and stroke.
* There is no cure.
* There are about 140,000 children and adults in Australia living with type 1 diabetes. Five more people are diagnosed each day on average, most of them children.
* The Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation aims to find a cure for diabetes and its complications through supporting research. In Australia, the foundation is now funding more than 40 research projects, with a total investment of over $60million.
Source: Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation
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