Mr Thomas' grandmother had type 1 diabetes and from a very young age he would help her test her blood sugar levels knowing her condition could get serious very quickly.

"Had we not had exposure it could be sitting with us and we wouldn't know, I might not have had regular tests and I might not have made my daughters get regularly tested," he said.

A walk to work was out of the question for staff with the Wellington Correctional Centre too far from town, but this week Mr Thomas and Judy Ingram organised a spectacular healthy breakfast for the 180 staff members as they began or ended their shifts.

This was followed by a walk around the perimeter of the centre.

To maximise what their staff could donate to the cause, the breakfast was sourced from local producers of fresh fruit, juice, bread and dairy products.

"We live in this part of the world because of the lifestyle that is available in the country and our local businesses are a part of that," he said.

"We have workers from Mudgee, Dubbo, Orange and Wellington so we thought we'd throw the net around that area."

Australia is one of the most obese nations in the world and Diabetes Australia has adopted the slogan "it took humans a million years to learn how to walk, and just one generation to forget".

"Maybe there's a link with technology," Mr Thomas said.

"We don't do exercise the way we were really designed to."

This week Diabetes Australia revealed new global estimates for diabetes showing that 387 million people were affected and more than 4.9 million deaths were caused by diabetes around the world.

In Australia almost 100,000 people have been diagnosed with diabetes in the past year alone.

Mr Thomas said he hoped people would think not only about the importance of exercise but also eating well and changing their lifestyle.

"You're never too young for awareness," he said.

Fundraising will continue with a raffle in December, you can find out more and learn some healthy living tips by visiting diabetesaustralia.com.au.

Mr Thomas thanked, Harris Farm, Little Big Dairy, Bev Co Distributions, Early Rise Bakery and Herb Smith's Dreamtime Tuka for their generosity.

To launch Walk to Work Day, Diabetes Australia released the following information:

1 in 4 adults aged under 65 report no moderate or vigorous activity in the past week

33% report only moderate intensity activity in the past week

85% are not aware of the recommendations of Australia's Physical Activity and SedentaryBehaviour Guidelines.