If type 2 diabetes was an infectious disease, passed from one person to another, public health officials would say we're in the midst of an epidemic. This difficult disease, once called adult-onset diabetes, is striking an ever-growing number of adults. Even more alarming, it's now beginning to show up in teenagers and children.
The problems behind the numbers are even more alarming. Diabetes is the leading cause of blindness and kidney failure among adults. It causes mild to severe nerve damage that, coupled with diabetes-related circulation problems, often leads to the loss of a leg or foot. Diabetes significantly increases the risk of heart disease, and it's the seventh leading cause of death in SD.1
The good news is that type 2 diabetes is largely preventable. About 9 cases in 10 could be avoided by taking several simple steps: keeping weight under control, exercising more, eating a healthy diet, and not smoking. We now know that smoking causes type 2 diabetes. In fact, smokers are 30-40% more likely to develop type 2 diabetes than nonsmokers.2
Investing in local resources to support and build a healthy community where people live, learn, work and play is integral to long-term health promotion and prevention of all chronic diseases, not just diabetes. Chronic diseases and associated risk factors continue to be the leading causes of morbidity and mortality in South Dakota and the United States. While chronic diseases are largely attributable to individual health behaviors, there is a growing body of evidence that recognizes that multiple factors shape health.
Prediabetes is a warning sign! Type 2 diabetes cannot be cured, but it can be prevented. Ignoring this warning sign may result in type 2 diabetes within five years. Prediabetes means your blood glucose (sugar) is higher than normal, but not high enough to be diagnosed with diabetes. One in three American adults has prediabetes, and most do not even know they have it.
The good news! Losing 5 to 7 percent of a person's weight and increasing their physical activity can reduce the risk of type 2 diabetes by a whopping 58 percent! Diabetes is a serious disease that can cause heart attack, stroke, blindness, kidney failure, or loss of feet or legs.
You are at an increased risk for developing prediabetes and type 2 diabetes if you:
- are 45 years of age or older;
- are overweight;
- have a family history of type 2 diabetes;
- are physically active fewer than three times per week; or
- ever had diabetes while pregnant which disappeared after the delivery (gestational diabetes) or gave birth to a baby that weighed more than 9 pounds.
Type 2 diabetes can be delayed or prevented in people with prediabetes through effective lifestyle changes including:
- eating healthy
- being more active
- losing weight
- stop smoking
For help making these lifestyle changes enroll in a National Diabetes Prevention Program.
The National Diabetes Prevention Program (National DPP) is a CDC-recognized and evidence-based lifestyle change program – in person or online – developed specifically to prevent type 2 diabetes. It is designed for people who have prediabetes or are at risk for type 2 diabetes, but who do not already have diabetes.
A trained lifestyle coach leads the program to help you change certain aspects of your lifestyle, like eating healthier, reducing stress, and getting more physical activity. The program also includes group support from others who share your goals and struggles.
This lifestyle change program is not a fad diet or an exercise class. And it’s not a quick fix. It’s a year-long program focused on long-term changes and lasting results.
A year might sound like a long commitment, but learning new habits, gaining new skills, and building confidence takes time. As you begin to eat better and become more active, you’ll notice changes in how you feel, and maybe even in how you look.
To learn more about what it’s like to be in a lifestyle change program:
Visit The Lifestyle Change Program for Details Find a Diabetes Prevention Program Near You Watch "A Change for Life" Program Video
Are you interested in starting a National Diabetes Prevention Program at your organization?
Contact Michelle Haselhorst, Diabetes Program Coordinator, at 605-773-2981 or email michelle.haselhorst@state.sd.us.
Sources:
- https://www.cdc.gov/nchs/pressroom/states/southdakota/sd.htm
- U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (USDHHS). Let’s Make the Next Generation Tobacco-Free: Your Guide to the 50th Anniversary Surgeon General’s Report on Smoking and Health (Consumer Booklet). Atlanta, GA: U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, National Center for Chronic Disease Prevention and Health Promotion, Office on Smoking and Health; 2014.