The statistics of diabetes are stunning. According to the American Diabetes Association:
- 23.6 million people in the United States (almost 8% of the population) have diabetes.
- Almost 6 million of those people don’t know they have it.
- There are 57 million people on deck in the pre-diabetes stage (elevated blood sugar, but not quite diabetic).
Holy cow.
If the word “diabetes” alone doesn’t scare you into assessing your risk, take a trip to the American Diabetes Association’s website to learn more about the complications (warning: they use words like blindness, stroke, amputation and death).
There’s good news for the 57 million people in the pre-diabetes group thanks to the Diabetes Prevention Program. The results of this study show that weight loss from dietary changes and increased physical activity is more effective at preventing or delaying the onset of type 2 diabetes than taking the oral diabetes drug metformin. Sounds like Prevention Not Prescriptions to me!
Highlights of the results:
- Participants in the lifestyle intervention group reduced their risk of developing diabetes by 58%, compared to 31% for the group taking metformin.
- Participants aged 60 and older who made lifestyle changes reduced their risk by 71%.
- This was the first study to show that lifestyle changes can effectively delay diabetes in a diverse population of adults at high risk (Tufts University). It’s an important distinction when we consider that some ethnic groups (such as African American) are more affected by diabetes than others.
Try one of this simple changes to get you on your way to losing weight and saying “I don’t think so!” to diabetes:
- Have oatmeal with blueberries and a couple of walnuts for breakfast.
- Snack on an apple with a little peanut butter (my very wise mother served us this way back when).
- Ditch the diet soda and try sparkling water.
- Fire up the grill for that chicken rather than firing up the fry pan.
And if you have diabetes already, know that dietary changes are beneficial to you too. We all have the power.
A Moment in a Busy Life is a proud participant in Prevention Not Prescriptions.
Tags: diabetes
The diabetes “epidemic” more than any other modern health problem astounds me the most. It is so clearly related to our food system, and the effects are devastating.
My doctor has been talking a bit about metformin as a way of helping me lose weight, but I have thus far been stubborn about it and won’t take it. (I’m right on the borderline.) It was very good news to hear that lifestyle and dietary changes are actually MORE effective! Since I’m heading down that road full speed right now, I must be on the right track!
I think you’re on the right track, and make sure you check in with your doctor to make sure he’s on board too. Keep up the good work!