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Diabetes Investigator Featured article:
Diabetes
And Weight Loss
by Kirsten Hawkins
Did you know that you can be 'just a little bit diabetic'? The condition
is technically called 'pre-diabetes', and it is characterized by persistent
high blood sugar levels. Pre-diabetes is a serious condition, though
its symptoms may be so subtle that you don't notice them affecting
your life. More importantly, it's an indicator that there is something
seriously wrong with your body. Left untreated, over 50% of those diagnosed
with pre-diabetes will develop Type 2 diabetes within ten years.
Diabetes Prevention Project
If your doctor has told you that you are one of the more than 16
million Americans who has pre-diabetes, the American Diabetes Association
has some very good news for you. In March 2005, the ADA released
the results of the multi-year . In a study
that followed thousands of patients across the nation who had been
diagnosed with pre-diabetes, the Diabetes Prevention Project found
that patients who lost a 'moderate' amount of weight reduced their
risk of developing full-blown diabetes by over 58%. Even more encouraging,
many of those patients had managed to reverse their condition, and
their blood sugar levels were well within normal ranges.
This was a result that the researchers had not expected. Diabetes
(and pre-diabetes) is the result of changes to cells in the pancreas
that reduce the amount of insulin that they can produce. Doctors
have always believed that those changes are irreversible. Now however,
the research seems to suggest that losing weight with a healthy balance
of exercise and diet can actually heal those early damages caused
by diabetes.
Here's the even better news. Those results were achieved by people
who lost 'moderate' amounts of weight - from 5-7% of their total
body mass. In other words, if you weigh 200 pounds and have been
diagnosed as pre-diabetic, losing just 10-15 pounds can more than
halve the risk of developing full-blown diabetes, and may reverse
your condition entirely.
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Here are some healthy weight loss tips from the American Diabetes
Association:
1. Keep your diet balanced. Eat a variety of foods in all food groups,
with an emphasis on grains, starches and fresh vegetables and fruit.
Portion control
2. Learn to eyeball portions. Portion control is far more important
than restricting what foods you eat. A 'portion' of raw vegetables
may be considerably larger than a portion of the same vegetables
cooked. There are some handy reference guides on their web site at http://www.diabetes.org
3. Add one half hour daily of moderate exercise to your daily routine
five days a week. This one single lifestyle change seemed to be the
key to both weight loss and the beneficial effects derived from it.
It was the single significant difference between the two groups in
the study.
The results of the Diabetes Prevention Project only confirm what
has been the best advice in dieting circles for years - losing weight
with a balanced diet and exercise is the healthiest way there is.
For more information on the diet recommended by the American Diabetes
Association, visit their web site at http://www.diabetes.org
About the Author
Kirsten Hawkins is a nutrition and health expert from Nashville,
Tennessee.
Visit http://www.popular-diets.com/ for
more great nutrition, well-being, and vitamin tips as well as reviews
and comments on popular diets.
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