Knock Out Punch to Diabetes

Diabetes, recognized as a silent killer, has become one of the most wide-spread diseases in the United States. The American Diabetic Association estimates that 23.6 million children and adults (or approximately 8% of the current U.S. population) has diabetes. Approximately 25% of those individuals do not even know they have the disease.

Diabetes is one of the most common undiagnosed diseases.

How does this concern me?

Well, it should concern you for several reasons.

If you don't have diabetes, chances are you may know somebody in your family who does. And the odds are growing that you will be diagnosed with diabetes in the not too distant future. There has been a jump of approximately 14% in the number of diagnosed cases since a study done in 2005-2007.

The economic cost of diabetes should also be a concern. The cost of someone diagnosed with diabetes is staggering. Medical expenses for someone with diabetes averages over $11,700 per year. That is over 2 ½ times higher than the medical expenses of someone without diabetes.

Your ethnicity may make you more susceptible to getting the disease. Diabetes often runs rampant in African-Americans, Latinos, Native Americans, and Asian-American/Pacific Islanders communities. The National Diabetes Education Program, for instance, has stated that about 16.5% of the Native Americans seen by the Indian Health Service have been diagnosed with diabetes.

Even if you do not fit into one of these ethnic groups, you are more likely to be diagnosed with diabetes as you get older. It has been estimated that 18% of those 60 and older have diabetes and 50% of all diabetes cases happen to those who are 55 and older.

Good News

There is good news concerning diabetes. Recent studies have shown that the development of type 2 diabetes can be prevented in individuals with pre-diabetes. All it takes is a few simple changes in their lifestyle. By making changes in your diet and increasing physical activity, you can knock out diabetes.

A Diabetes Prevention Program study showed that while some medicines delayed the development of diabetes, diet and exercise had a much more beneficial impact on diabetes. 30 minutes of moderate physical activity plus a 5 - 10% reduction in body weight was found to produce a 58% reduction in diabetes. When you factor in that it costs you over $11,700 in medical expenses per year, getting up off the couch and losing some weight doesn't seem such a bad deal.

Physical Activity

"Yeah, but I don't want to go to a gym and lift weights."

Getting 30 minutes of moderate physical activity is easy and can be fun.

The Center for Disease Control states that moderate-intensity physical activity is an activity where you would experience some increase in breathing or heart rate or any activity that burns 3.5 - 7 calories a minute.

Here are just a few fun activities you can do:

Walking briskly

Golf, pulling a cart or carrying your clubs

Recreational swimming

Mowing your lawn with a power mower

Playing doubles tennis

Bicycling 5 - 9 mph on level terrain

And you don't need to do moderate-intensity activities for 30 minutes straight. You can break up your daily physical activities into 3 sessions of 10 minutes each if that fits your lifestyle better.

See Your Doctor

Another major factor in fighting diabetes is making your doctor a central part of your fight. Make sure you meet with your doctor on a regular basis. Your doctor can help you plan a healthy diet and advise you on proper physical activities.

Diabetes is a terrible disease. It sneaks up on you without you being aware of the damage it is doing to your body. But you can knock out diabetes. A good fight plan that includes exercise, a healthy diet, and regular meetings with your doctor can put diabetes down for the count.

About the Author

Merle Zunigha has seen what diabetes can do to people. Having spent a career working with Native Americans, he knows how it can impact families. He watched his father die of the disease and is currently fighting the disease himself. For more information on fighting this devastating disease go to http://www.adea-diabetes.com