The Challenge of Diabetes

What is Type II Diabetes?

Type II diabetes makes up about 90% of all diabetes cases, making it the most common form of diabetes. People with type II diabetes either do not produce enough insulin or their cells ignore the insulin. Insulin takes the sugar from the blood into the cells, so the body is able to use the sugar as the basic fuel (energy) for the cells. In type II diabetes the body does not process insulin effectively resulting in high blood sugar levels (hyperglycemia), which leaves your cells starved for energy. Over time these high blood sugar levels can lead to serious complications with eyes, kidney, nerves or heart.

What are the leading Risk Factors for Type II Diabetes?

Type II diabetes typically strikes in middle age and older adults.

Other common risk factors are:

Being overweight or obese

Physical inactivity

Low dietary fibre consumption

What can be done to prevent or delay the onset of Type II Diabetes?

Diabetes Prevention Programs have proven that type II diabetes can be prevented or delayed by keeping your weight in control and by increasing physical activity. Participants in these programs increased their physical activity and lost 10-15 pounds and reduced the progression of their diabetes by almost 60%.

Weight loss and exercise help to improve an individual’s insulin sensitivity in the short term. Studies have reported that that if people who are at high risk for type II diabetes are help to reduce their weight and increase there physical activity and fibre intake they will significantly reduce further risk.

Losing weight and keeping it off is a real challenge for most people, so starting the right healthy nutrition and fitness routine can help you to decrease your calories, better control your blood sugars, and feel better, while still eating the foods that you enjoy.

Learning strategies to change old habits into new ones is a positive step toward keeping every pound that you lose off. Remember even losing a small amount of weight (5-7%) can decrease your risk of type II diabetes which is also a major cause of:

Heart Disease – leading cause of diabetes related deaths.

Blindness – leading cause of new cases of blindness in adults.

Kidney Failure – accounts for 40% of end-stage renal disease cases.

Healthy Weight Loss