Living with kidney disease feels like a full-time job for Sydney man Peter Slocombe. (Slow-com)
While undergoing treatment at the Royal North Shore Hospital, he says his career as a carpenter has been replaced by at least three days a week on dialysis.
"It's six hours on it, so it's like it's a full work day and then at the end of it - it's very draining and tiring - so you feel like you've worked, but you've just sat here doing nothing."
When Mr Slocombe was diagnosed eight years ago, he was 50 kilograms heavier than he is today.
He says the extra weight has delayed his chance of a transplant.
"I had a brother that offered me a kidney but it didn't happen because they like to transplant at an ideal body weight, and I was always above that, so it never happened, so now he's actually had problems himself so he can't do it at all."
In Peter Slowcombe's case, the obesity didn't cause the disease, but in many cases it does.
A report entitled "Rising Obesity Rates tip Australia towards Kidney Disease Crisis" by Kidney Health Australia, has highlighted the link between the two.
Professor Carol Pollock is the director of the non-for-profit organisation and a kidney specialist.
She says it's not difficult to see why they're related.
"Obesity contributes to about a third of the cases of people who have chronic kidney disease. It does that directly if somebody is a bigger person, the kidneys need to work harder to clear the toxins and so that can put a strain on the kidneys. But also obseity is associated with diabetes and higher blood pressure - and both of those unforunately account for more than 50 per cent of the cases in end-stage kidney disease that we see."
Two in every three Australians are overweight or obese.
According to the report, those who are overweight are 1.5-times more likely to develop kidney disease.
Those who are obese are twice are likely to be affected.
The report reveals that in the 16 health areas across the country where obesity rates are above the national average, the majority of cases have higher-than-average estimated rates of chronic kidney disease.
The chief executive of Kidney Health Australia, Mikaelia Stafrace (sta-fra-chee) says she hopes the findings will cause people to adopt healthier lifestyles.
"The most important thing now is that if they do find themselves overweight, please please please go and see your GP and have a kidney check, the other thing they can do which is just as easy is go along to a guardian or amcal pharmacy and do a kidney check, you can order those over the counter, but certainly things like making sure they're blood pressure is under control, they're not smoking, staying away from sugary drinks."
That warning is particularly relevant for Indigenous Australians, who are at a five-times greater risk of developing kidney disease.
With obesity levels increasing every year, the overall number of people with kidney disease is also expected to sky rocket.
In terms of those in need of dialysis or transplants, there were fewer than 20-thousand patients in 2011.
By 2020, that number is expected to exceed 31-thousand.
Professor Carol Pollock says that's going to put pressure on the health system.
