Diabetes Month increases awareness

Attention, awareness and education about diabetes is always at the forefront, but this month special attention was given to the diabetes as November serves as National Diabetes Month.

America is facing an epidemic of diabetes, a serious disease that damages the body and shortens lives. In the next four decades, the number of U.S. adults with diabetes is estimated to double or triple, according to Center for Disease Control scientists. This means that anywhere from 20 to 33 percent of adults could have the disease. Currently, about one out of every ten Americans has diabetes.

If you already have diabetes, managing the disease is the most important thing you can do to lower your risk of complications. Just this year, a group formed a diabetes committee to educate people in the community who live with the disease and to help them manage their lifestyles to manage their diabetes.

“Number one, we want to get people’s awareness up. Number two, I want my patients and the community members that have diabetes to do more physical activity and get in shape,” Dr. Patrick Tufts told the Mineral back in May. “Making good choices has a lot to do with it. The more you manage your diabetes down the road the less problems you have that diabetes can bring on.”

It’s important to manage your blood glucose, blood pressure and cholesterol. It’s important to keep track of eating patterns and how what you eat affects your sugar levels. Exercise is also an important part of managing diabetes and those with the disease should strive to reach and maintain a healthy wait.

Diabetes occurs when the body does not produce or properly use insulin. Insulin is a hormone that allows the body to use glucose for energy.  The body produces glucose from the food you eat.

Type 1 diabetes is usually diagnosed in children and young adults. Type 2 diabetes is the most common form and is most often diagnosed in adults. Gestational diabetes appears for the first time during pregnancy and puts one at risk for type 2 diabetes later in life.

Obesity is a major risk factor for developing type 2. Other risk factors for type 2 diabetes include being age 45 or older, have a parent, brother or sister with type 2 diabetes, are not physically active and belong to certain racial or ethnic groups. African Americans, Hispanic/Latino, American Indians and some Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders are at high risk for type 2 diabetes.

The American Diabetes Association has used this month as a time to communicate the seriousness of diabetes and the importance of diabetes prevention and control. In 2009, the association launched a national movement to Stop Diabetes – with the audacious goal of gathering the support millions of Americans to help confront, fight and most importantly, stop diabetes.

With nearly 24 million children and adults in the United States living with diabetes, and an additional 57 million Americans at risk, the association believes there is no time to waste. One out of every three children born today will face a future with diabetes if current trends continue, according to the association.

When not managed properly or kept in check, complications can occur. Heart disease and stroke account for about 65% of deaths in people with diabetes. The risk for stroke and death from heart disease is 2 to 4 times higher among people with diabetes. Kidney disease, amputation and blindness are only a few more of the complications associated with diabetes.

The Diabetes Committee hopes that weekly walks and information sessions on how to eat properly will help Mineral County residents manage the disease.