There is a lot you can do to prevent the diabetes epidemic in your family. Plain and simple, “Eat less… move more, it makes perfect sense”.
Is it possible to delay or even prevent type 2 diabetes from ever developing? Yes it is. There is a lot you can do yourself to know your risks for pre-diabetes and to take action to prevent diabetes if you have, or are at risk for, pre-diabetes.
How to prevent or delay diabetes
Pre-diabetes is a serious medical condition that can be treated. The good news is that the recently completed Diabetes Prevention Program study conclusively showed that people with pre-diabetes can prevent the development of type 2 diabetes by making changes in their diet and increasing their level of physical activity.
Start them on good habits when they’re young
Most specialists in this field believe that the time to act to prevent type 2 diabetes is in childhood-well before the adolescent years. If children can become physically active and learn to eat a healthful diet, their chances of becoming obese and developing type 2 will be markedly reduced.
However, these changes in eating and exercise need to be permanent lifestyle changes, or else the disease will only be delayed not prevented.
THEN
By: Elliott P. Joslin, M.D.
Dated: 1929
Q. How can you help to prevent the development of diabetes in your children and friends?
A. By explaining to them the dangers of obesity and telling them of easy ways to escape it: such as,
- To leave the table a little hungry, avoid second helpings.
- To omit lunches and candy and sodas between meals.
- To use skimmed milk instead of cream.
- To encourage exercise, abundant sleep, and energetic yet restful vacations.
NOW
- The 2005 Dietary Guidelines for Americans
- Make Fruits and Vegetables Half Your Plate… Every Meal
- Too Many Calories, Too Few Nutrients: Achieving Balance with Fruits and Vegetables
- Fruits and Vegetables: Chronic Disease Fighters
- Guidelines for Healthy Meetings
- 50 Ways to Prevent Diabetes #1
- 50 Ways to Prevent Diabetes #15