informationlover

  

Obesity, Women, and Diabetes

Navigation: Main page

Author: Adem

Type 2 diabetes is usually diagnosed in people who are 40 years old or older. Most often these people are (a) obese and (b) sedentary. Forty + obese + sedentary is a recipe for diabetes.

Now there's nothing we can do (or would want to do) about turning 40 years old and growing older, but there IS something we can do about obesity and lack of physical activity.

Amazingly, losing only a few pounds and exercising even just a little dramatically lowers the risk of getting Type 2 diabetes. In the United States, 10 million women over the age of 40 have Type 2 diabetes. Of that number, 55% are considered overweight, and another 35% are considered obese. That means that 90% of the women over 40 who have diabetes weigh more than they should.

It's an indisputable fact that obesity can lead to all kinds of health problems, even for younger people. Nobody says otherwise. It's also an indisputable fact that the older we get, the more problems obesity can cause.

When we eat too much, the pancreas must produce more and more insulin to keep our blood sugar levels within normal limits. When enough stress is put on the pancreas, it either shuts down completely, or it slows down and the body doesn't make use of the insulin that is being produced. Diabetes is the result.

Heredity can, of course, increase a person's risk for developing Type 2 diabetes; but diet and exercise seem to be much more likely to be the culprits. Here's what we can do to decrease the risk of developing type 2 diabetes:

1. Eat a well-balanced diet. A well-balanced diet consists of fresh fruit, fresh vegetables, whole grain foods, and lean meat. It DOESN'T consist of fast food, candy bars, and junk food.

2. Eat only as much as we require, and no more: Overeating is a habit. It's a bad habit and one that can be modified. Eating six small meals each day rather than three big meals and avoiding all snacking is a good way to prevent eating more than you need.

3. Exercise! Don't just sit there! Get up and get moving!









Disclaimer Privacy-Policy Terms-Of-Use