This killer preys on older, overweight and obese women – mainly from poor communities.

There has been a significant increase in deaths from diabetes, which is now South Africa’s second biggest killer.

Makhehla Mosia from Qwaqwa in the Free State believes years of bad eating habits are what led her to develop type 2 diabetes and poor health.

Taxi drivers spend long hours on the road which often leaves them with very little time to consider a healthy diet, so they turn to sugary drinks for energy and sustenance.

Manie Pretorius used to be a sports enthusiast who weighed just 70 kilograms. Just a few years and a knee injury later, Pretorius weighed almost 200 kilograms. He had become obese and his state of health was on the decline.

Almost a century after the discovery of insulin diabetes is still killing many people, especially those in poorer nations.

Today is International Diabetes Day and the rate of type 2 diabetes in South Africa has increased by over two-thirds in just five years, mostly as a result of poor diet.