Can We Change the Future?

"In the United States, 1 in 3 people will have Type 2 diabetes by 2050 if current trends continue, according to a new report from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. "


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West Virginia is already a "leader" in numbers of adults who have the chronic disease, diabetes mellitus, or type 2 diabetes. Characterized by an the body's inability to properly produce insulin and process sugar in the blood, diabetes can be a "silent killer" like hypertension: you may not know you have it if you are not routinely tested, but it will be there doing its damage.  A simple fasting blood test will give you the number of your blood glucose level. Too high on more than one occasion, and your doctor may tell you that you have joined the growing population of people with type 2 diabetes. Why do you want to avoid this happening? To make it very simple, having diabetes makes your risk for other major illnesses like heart disease and stroke go up dramatically.  Unmanaged, diabetes can cause blood vessel damage to occur all through your body, and that can affect your eyes, your nerves, your feet, and your kidneys. Complications of uncontrolled diabetes can include blindness and amputation. So diabetes is a whole-body, systemic disease.

Adding to the sense of urgency is the fact that younger and younger people are developing diabetes. Whereas we used to call it "adult onset diabetes", that description has been changed - type 2 diabetes now can be found in teenagers.

The rise in cases of diabetes parallels the rise in the numbers of people who are overweight or obese. This has to be a concern to us as parents and community members. For most people - including children - the key to avoiding developing diabetes is : maintain a healthy weight by eating well and being active.

Worried? Want to take steps to avoid being part of this epidemic? We can change this prediction, if we each take responsibility for our own health:

• Lose weight if you are overweight.
• Lose weight safely by staying within a range of 400 calories per meal, with two or three 100-calorie snacks
• Limit saturated fats; limit red meat, hamburgers, fried foods
• Avoid refined carbohydrates - eat whole grains instead
• Avoid vending machines and fast food - eat real food
• Choose water instead of soft drinks or fruit juice; drink fat-free milk
• Learn to cook quick nutritious meals at home; pack your lunch and snacks to control your portion sizes and your hunger
• Eat lots of non-starchy vegetables; choose beans as a protein source at least once a week.
• Make sure you get lots of FIBER in your diet.
• Walk, run , bike, swim, take the stairs, zumba, stretch, lift weights - just keep moving - every day! 

Diabetes is an expensive, lifetime disease that requires daily monitoring. Please do your body a favor and click here to learn how to avoid diabetes if you don't have it, and control it if you do. And by all means, talk to your health care provider if you suspect you are at risk for diabetes or need help controlling your blood glucose levels.

Don't Wait 'til the Holidays to Avoid Holiday Weight Gain

Most articles that address ''holiday weight gain" refer to the six weeks from Thanksgiving through New Year's, but I believe the holiday season starts right about now - with the fall festivals, football tailgates and Halloween preparations. Late fall is possibly the most food-focused time of the year.

So it's certainly not too early to investigate the truth about holiday weight gain and make plans to avoid it!

For a long time, health professionals and people themselves thought that the average amount of weight gained by people during the holidays was between five and ten pounds. The good news is that recent studies have found this to be untrue. The National Institutes of Health followed a diverse group of 200 Americans, their diets and weights, and found that although nearly everyone did gain weight during the holiday period, the average weight gain was around one pound, not five or ten. 

The bad news is that most people did not lose that pound during the next year. Or the next. Or the extra pound they gained the next year, and so on.  Further bad news is that people who were already overweight have been found to gain more than the one pound during the holidays. They gain about five, and like the other group, do not usually lose that holiday weight gain. So holiday goodies and over-indulgence can definitely have an effect on our country's obesity problem.

Yet it is possible to enjoy holiday foods and not gain weight! In fact, it is possible to conitune on a weight loss program during the holidays without feeling deprived.

We'll touch on several strategies in the upcoming weeks as we approach the new year, but probably the most important thing to do is begin now to plan for the kind of holiday season you want! We do that now anyway as we make lists : lists of gifts, people to send cards to, a cleaning and decorationg schedule, and so .... this year add YOUR WEIGHT MANAGEMENT GOALS to your other lists.

Remembering that adding 3500 extra calories to your diet over several days can lead to a one pound weight gain in a week, figure out how to budget in the special foods you want to enjoy without making them "extra" calories. This may mean that you skip the mashed potato casserole in order to have the pumpkin pie.  It may mean that your daily walking time becomes 30 minutes instead of 15; or that you add jogging or a step aerobics class to burn even more calories. As always, watch portion sizes! Having a bite or two of a rich dish and really enjoying it can satisfy your sweet or savory tooth as much as a full portion would. It's good to remember that just because the food is there, you don't have to eat it.

What's my personal best trick? I know what my favorite holiday foods are. I plan in advance to enjoy certain foods while giving up fattening "side dishes" that I usually eat just becasue they are "there." I also know what special dishes and desserts I really like, but aren't "holiday essentials" for the rest of my family. And I know that if I make it, I will be the one who will likely overindulge in excess calories until that goodie is gone. So I just don't make those recipes anymore. The old "out of sight, out of mind" ( and mouth) trick. For someone else, it may be deciding not to keep a candy dish stocked all season if you know you are likely to "just have one" everytime you walk past it.  It takes some thought and honesty with yourself to plan ahead to avoid the holiday bulge; but because the alternative is pounds you aren't likely to lose, it's worth it!