There are several diabetics who are not overweight and exercise regularly but they still have the disease.

Doctors have been stating for many years now that diabetes can not be cured but can be controlled by a careful diet, exercise, control of blood pressure and cholesterol.

But it seems Kevin Rudd has more knowledge about diabetes as the prime minister plans to pay GPs $1200 for every diabetic they can sign up to their practice, with more money on offer if they turn a patient's declining health around.

The question now comes is that will this be another policy that will raise false hopes before being scrapped?

GP would take on an enhanced role in overseeing a patient’s condition and organising referrals, where needed, to specialist help such as a dietician or physiotherapist under the plan that aims to make diabetics more likely to see a single ‘home GP.

Professor Campbell, director of the Diabetes Unit at Sydney's St Vincent's Hospital said, "The problem is we're facing what people call an epidemic of diabetes. There are going to be more patients to treat than we have ever had. This will be a partial incentive to getting some of those treated optimally."