Ten years ago Mr Robinson - then aged 61 and overweight - was diagnosed with type 2 diabetes.

"I was receiving multiple doses of insulin, up to 43 units a day, so about 12 months ago I decided to take the advice of my diabetes educator and change my lifestyle," Mr Robinson said.

"I lost 20 kilograms and began regular exercise ... more importantly I got my blood glucose levels under control so I am no longer insulin dependent."

In addition, Mr Robinson's high cholesterol and blood pressure improved dramatically.

Mr Robinson had been under the care of Nelson Bay diabetes educator Annabel Thurlow, who has been caring for people with diabetes for 16 years.

She espoused the virtues of lifestyle modification for at-risk diabetes sufferers.

"Diabetes Week commences on July 12 and the theme for this year is 'four an hour' - which is the number of people who are diagnosed with diabetes every day in Australia," Ms Thurlow said.

"The risk factors include family history, age [people over 65 years are 13 times more likely to be diagnosed], weight, lifestyle, high cholesterol and high blood pressure.

"The Health Department has recently released an online assessment tool which can be accessed by anyone at any time for free and I encourage everyone in those risk categories to carry out the test."

The assessment tool can be found at health.gov.au.