My husband just found out 2 days ago that his sister has now been diagnosed with type 2 diabetes. As I continue to see this disease abound in those I know and love, I am determined to spread the word about the little things that can be done to avoid/get away from obesity and thus reduce the risk of diabetes (or keep current conditions under control).
Here's a bit more info that I learned from the International Diabetes Federation (IDF) on reducing obesity and development of type 2 diabetes:
Among adults, clear evidence exists that surprisingly modest weight loss can markedly reduce the development of type 2 diabetes, if not prevent it completely, in susceptible individuals, and that weight loss can reverse the type 2 diabetic state. The remarkable effect of weight loss through diet and increased activity has been demonstrated in the National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases (NIDDK) Diabetes Prevention Programme in the USA to benefit particularly the over-60s, in whom nearly three-quarters of new cases of diabetes were prevented.
This and other studies provide hope to those with impaired glucose tolerance (IGT) and a susceptibility to diabetes. Dietary and activity changes to produce a 5-7% weight loss can successfully reduce the incidence of type 2 diabetes; reductions in fat and calorie intake accompanied by half an hour's extra walking or other exercise each day have been demonstrated to lower the incidence by 58%. Great success has been achieved among people over 60 years, reducing the development of diabetes in that high-risk age group by 71%. Reduction in the incidence of type 2 diabetes with lifestyle intervention or metformin. Similar data have emerged from China, Scandinavia and other European studies.
WHO (World Health Organization) recommendations for dietary improvements and increased levels of exercise across entire populations provide the basis for the development of global strategies to challenge the rise in obesity along with other diet and activity related chronic diseases, including type 2 (www.who.int/hpr/NPH/docs/who_fao_expert_report.pdf).
The WHO recommendations include: reducing fat, sugar and salt consumption...
I'm a wannabe in every sense of the word. I wanna be good enough to make it to heaven, but Jesus died because I will never be. I wanna be a mom of ten living on a farm in the middle of nowhere, training my girls to honor God & their husbands, by being content, happy homemakers...yet God has seen fit to bless us with the opportunity to help rear for Him two boys (22 and 12), in the middle of suburbia ;) I wanna be a helpmate to my husband in every way possible, yet more often than not, I'm in his way, lol. I wanna be the perfect parent, that raises perfect children, yet I am constantly humbled by the fact that only He is perfect, and I must allow him to lead. I wanna be the ultimate caretaker of my temple, and the pinnacle of health to all around me, yet no amount of healthy eating/exercise keeps me from dropping to my knees often, in need of healing from the Great Physician. I could go on and on about the the things that I am trying to be, but I invite you instead to come and join me as I travel on my path toward virtue... ~Proverbs 31:10-31~
