Eighteen million Americans have diabetes, but did you know that over 90% of all diabetes cases can either be prevented or significantly delayed? And guess what can help you avoid diabetes? The amazing panacea of exercise and healthy diet is the answer. It seems the many medical studies published concerning American health all come back to fitness.
From the National Institute of Health webpage, diabetes is defined in three categories:
Type I Diabetes
Type I diabetes is a very serious and non-preventable condition where the patient needs a daily dose of insulin since the pancreas does not produce it at all or in enough quantities.
Type II Diabetes
Type II diabetes usually occurs in older and/or obese people who do not have to have a family history of diabetes. 80% of type II diabetics are overweight, and as our children are increasingly sharing in America's overweight statistics, juvenile diabetes is growing at alarming rates.
The third type of diabetes is gestational diabetes which occurs in pregnant women.
Of the millions of Americans with diabetes, it is amazing that the preventable form of Type II makes up an overwhelming majority of the cases. This is extremely serious, since diabetes is the sixth leading cause of death in the U.S.A totaling over 70,000 people every year and costing over $132 billion annually in direct and indirect costs. Diabetics should see their doctor several times a year and receive regular eye and feet examinations since blindness and amputations of the lower limbs are common effects of the disease.
Now, that you are more informed on the topic, what can you do to avoid diabetes? The Stew Smith answer is quite simple - Get up off your butt, start moving more, and eating less sugary foods, like junk foods, and drinking sodas. Eat less from the drive-thru and more from the garden. Check out the many websites on diabetes you can find with a google.com search. You can find many articles in the Stew Smith article archive at Military.com that can help you with ideas to get started. Articles that apply are:
Stew Smith is a former Navy SEAL and fitness author certified as a Strength and Conditioning Specialist (CSCS) with the National Strength and Conditioning Association. If you are interested in starting a workout program to create a healthy lifestyle - check out the Military.com Fitness eBook store and the Stew Smith article archive at Military.com. To contact Stew with your comments and questions, e-mail him at email@example.com.