In this thought-provoking campaign, diabetes-related injuries are recreated using the very thing that causes them: sweets.

Credit: The Diabetes Association of Thailand

Diabetes is no joke. Unfortunately, the modern-day illness is on the rise, and citizens in developing countries show little sign of slowing their consumption of foods which contribute to the disease of affluence.

While plenty of anecdotal evidence suggests that diabetes can not only be prevented through healthy dietary and life choices but even reversed in certain cases, few have made the connection that what they eat plays a major role in the development of their health conditions.

In effect, 23.6 million Americans have diabetes, 1.6 new cases of diabetes are reported each year, and the illness is now the 7th leading cause of death. In addition, the affliction – which is largely caused by over-eating refined sugar, too much protein (which taxes the adrenals, contributing to an increase in adrenaline which negatively affects the pancreas) and refined fats and oils – costs taxpayers $174 billion annually and increases one's risk of having a heart attack by 68%.

Because processed sugar (and refined carbohydrates, such as those in white bread, pasta, junk food, and muffins) is largely to blame for the development of the disease, the Diabetes Association of Thailand commissioned Thai designer Nattakong Jaengsem to create a thought-provoking campaign which might encourage the public to reduce their sugar intake.

The campaign, titled "Sweet Kills," depicts what Type 2 Diabetes can do. Instead of using simple photographs, however, Jaengsem decided to recreate diabetes-related injuries using the very thing that causes them: sweets.

While the following photos may be gruesome, they certainly are effective.

Chocolate Brownie

Credit: The Diabetes Association of Thailand

Credit: The Diabetes Association of Thailand

Vanilla Cake

Credit: The Diabetes Association of Thailand

Credit: The Diabetes Association of Thailand