Healthy Lifestyle Helps Keep Diabetes At Bay

Exercise And Healthy Eating A Must

In the past decade, the prevalence of diabetes has skyrocketed 40 percent - from about 5 percent of the population to about 7 percent.

And by 2050, the number of US adults and children diagnosed with the disease will jump by 165 percent, experts predict.

Those worrisome rates dovetail with a disturbing increase in the number of people who are overweight in the US. In 1999, an estimated 61 percent of US adults were either overweight or obese, health officials estimate.

Two main types of diabetes include type 1 and type 2. Type 1 diabetes is an autoimmune disease in which the body's immune system destroy the cells in the pancreas that produce insulin, resulting in no or a low amount of insulin. People with type 1 diabetes must take insulin daily in order to live.

Type 2 diabetes is a result of the body's inability to make enough, or to properly use, insulin. Type 2 diabetes may be controlled with diet, exercise, and weight loss, or may require oral medications and/or insulin injections.

Impaired Glucose Tolerance a Warning Signal

However, another estimated 20 million individuals have a condition called impaired glucose tolerance (IGT), which often precedes diabetes.

People with IGT have blood sugar levels higher than normal but not high enough to say they have diabetes. As many as 10 of every 100 persons with IGT will develop diabetes each year, according to the Joslin Diabetes Center in Boston.

If a person has IGT, he or she can expect some strong suggestions from a physician to improve health habits. Losing weight, exercising regularly, and eating more healthfully might save someone from the brink of diabetes.

Embracing a healthy lifestyle is definitely worth the effort, says Dr. Gerald Bernstein, past president of the American Diabetes Association (ADA) and an associate clinical professor of medicine at the Albert Einstein College of Medicine in New York City.

While genetics plays a role in who gets diabetes, Dr. Bernstein says, "the variables are exercise, diet, and age."

By paying attention to exercise, diet, and weight, it is possible to prevent or delay the onset of type 2 diabetes for many years, Dr. Bernstein says. And doing so will limit some of diabetes' dangerous complications, such as kidney problems or blindness.

Impaired glucose tolerance also "puts you at risk for cardiovascular disease even if you never get the diabetes," Dr. Bernstein says.

He stresses modest lifestyle changes, especially if someone is not used to exercise.

"It doesn't have to be running or anything dramatic," he says. Instead, focus on having an active lifestyle - take the stairs, park farther from the store.

Start Slowly, and Keep Up the Good Work

Adds Dr. Aramesh Saremi, of the National Institute of Diabetes & Digestive & Kidney Diseases, "Brisk walking a half hour a day most days of the week is enough."

Dr. Saremi evaluated 1,728 non-diabetic men and women, tracking their physical activity for six years. The more active the person, the less likely they were to develop type 2 diabetes, Dr. Saremi reports in the American Journal of Epidemiology.

For weight loss, another diabetes expert, Dr. Eugene Barrett, refers his at-risk patients to a registered dietitian who can help evaluate their diet and suggest changes that will result in fewer pounds and better food choices.

A registered dietitian can also coach people in "intelligent shopping," such as how to read labels for fat content, says Dr. Barrett, president of the ADA and a professor of medicine at the University of Virginia Medical School.

The study that most experts say proves the value of lifestyle changes is called the Diabetes Prevention Program. In that study, halted early in 2001 when the benefits of exercising and losing weight became apparent, researchers looked at 3,234 people with impaired glucose tolerance.

They compared three groups: One made lifestyle changes such as losing weight and exercising regularly; another group was put on oral diabetes medication; and the third took placebo (inactive substance) pills.

During the three-year follow-up, only 14 percent of the exercise and weight loss group developed type 2 diabetes, but 22 percent of the medication group and 29 percent of the placebo group did.

Always consult your physician for more information.

Online Resources

American Diabetes Association

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC)

National Diabetes Education Program

National Institute of Diabetes & Digestive & Kidney Diseases (NIDDKD)

National Insitutes of Health (NIH)

In This Issue:

Healthy Lifestyle Helps Keep Diabetes At Bay

Impaired Glucose Tolerance a Warning Signal

Start Slowly, and Keep Up the Good Work

Statistics on Diabetes

Diagnosing Diabetes

Online Resources

Other Resources:

Find a St. John's Mercy Physician

Diabetes Services at St. John's Mercy

Diabetes Health Information

St. John's Mercy Classes and Programs

In Other Diabetes Health News:

Statistics on Diabetes

Consider the following statistics from the National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases (NIDDK) and the American Diabetes Association:

Diabetes affects an estimated 17 million people in the US (90 percent to 95 percent have type 2 diabetes) - 11.1 million have been diagnosed, but 5.9 million are unaware they have the disease.

Those affected include:

• 9.1 million women (9 percent of all women)
  
  
• 7.8 million men (8 percent of all men)
  
  
• 151,000 children under age 20
  
  
• 7 million adults over age 65 (20 percent of the US population)
  
  
• 2.8 million African Americans (13 percent of all African Americans)
  
  
• 2 million Hispanic/Latino Americans (10 percent of all Hispanic/Latino Americans)
  
  
• 11.4 million Caucasian Americans (8 percent of all Caucasian Americans)

According to the most recent statistics, diabetes was the sixth leading cause of death, and the fifth leading cause of death from disease.

Always consult your physician for more information.

Diagnosing Diabetes

According to the National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases (NIDDK):

People over age 45 should be tested for diabetes. If the first blood glucose test is normal, they should be re-tested every three years.

People under age 45 should be tested for diabetes if they are at high risk for diabetes based on these factors:

• being more than 20 percent over ideal body weight, or having a body mass index (BMI) of greater than or equal to 27 kgm/m2
  
  
• having a first-degree relative with diabetes (mother, father, or sibling)
  
  
• being a member of a high-risk ethnic group (African-American, Hispanic, Asian, or Native American)
  
  
• delivering a baby weighing more than nine pounds, or having diabetes during pregnancy
  
  
• having blood pressure at or above 140/90 mmHg
  
  
• having abnormal blood fat levels, such as high-density lipoproteins (HDL) less than or equal to 35 mg/dL, or triglycerides greater than or equal to 250 mg/dL (mg/dL = milligrams of glucose per deciliter of blood)
  
  
• having impaired glucose tolerance when previously tested for diabetes
  

Always consult your physician for more information.