Is Diabetes in your future?

by Katherine A Roberts MD FACE,

Williamsburg Endocrinology, Inc.

There are factors which you cannot change and other factors which you can change.

There are many reasons for the onset of diabetes that people cannot control: your genetic make- up, high weight as a baby, and ethnicity. In terms of genetics, there are many inherited defects: one is in the function of the beta cell (the pancreatic cell that makes insulin), another is how the protein of insulin is converted to an active form, and there are also defects in insulin or the receptor that makes it work. Hard as you may try there is nothing one can do about being born a 9 pound child. Also you did not pick your parents so you cannot change your ethnicity. According to the National Institutes of Health (NIH),after adjusting for population age differences, 2007–2009 national survey data for people ages 20 years or older indicate that 7.1 percent of non-Hispanic whites, 8.4 percent of Asian Americans, 11.8 percent of Hispanics/ Latinos, and 12.6 percent of non-Hispanic blacks had diagnosed diabetes. Among Hispanics/Latinos, rates were 7.6 percent for both Cuban Americans and for Central and South Americans, 13.3 percent for Mexican Americans, and 13.8 percent for Puerto Ricans.

So those are the things that you are born with, it is what you do with your life that you can change. There are many things to increase which will decrease your risk of diabetes

Physical Activity – Exercise is a key factor in keeping blood sugars low and reducing insulin resistance. Both aerobic and strength exercises help with lowering and maintaining good blood sugar control. Thirty minutes of moderate activity five days per week or 20 minutes of vigorous activity three days per week has been shown to be very affective in keeping level blood sugars. Strength and resistance exercises are also very important and have been found to be additive in their benefits for insulin sensitivity and glucose balance. Strengthening exercises are also very important as the body ages because over 40 years old people can lose 3-5% of muscle mass per decade with inactivity.

Fiber – Increasing fiber in the diet will make you feel fuller and decrease your blood sugar. It also helps decrease your risk of heart disease. It is recommended that people with diabetes take in 21 to 38 grams of dietary fiber per day depending upon whether you are a man or a woman and your age. Increasing your fiber also has the benefits of reducing your cholesterol, decreasing your risk of heart disease and stroke as well as decreasing your risks associated with many gastrointestinal cancers.

Reduce your chance of getting diabetes through weight loss and exercise.

Lose weight – The Diabetes Prevention Program was a large study of 3200 people at high risk for diabetes. It proved that losing weight through exercise and calorie restriction decreased the risk of developing diabetes by 58%. The lifestyle intervention group in the study was to reduce their weight by 7% and keep it down. They accomplished this by decreasing their calorie intake and fat proportion of calories and by exercising 150 minutes per week. Seven percent is not much and it brings with it a huge benefit. An example of the amount of weight would be 10.5 lbs for someone who weighs 150 lbs; 12.25 lbs for someone who weighs 175 lbs; 14 lbs for someone who weighs 200 lbs; and so on.

The outline of the program used is at http://www.bsc.gwu.edu/dpp/lifestyle/dpp_part.html