Diabetes Prevention Begins with the First Step

By Loni Kissin

Nearly 7 out of 10 Americans don’t get enough physical activity. And, physical inactivity is a risk factor for diabetes as well as cancer, heart disease, and stroke.

One of the simplest ways to get fit and stay healthy is walking. According to the American Diabetes Association, the National Institutes of Health and Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, walking can help control weight, prevent or delay type 2 diabetes, and help prevent or delay complications in people already diagnosed with the disease. Walking is an inexpensive prevention method for controlling blood sugar — essential for people with diabetes or those at risk for the disease.

So, how can walking help control or prevent diabetes? Diabetes is a disease in which the body does not produce or properly use insulin, a hormone needed to convert sugar, starches, and other food into energy for daily life. The cause of diabetes is a mystery, although both genetics and environmental factors appear to play roles. Type 1 is an autoimmune disease in which the body does not produce any insulin. This type most often occurs in children and young adults. People with type 1 diabetes must take daily insulin injections to stay alive.

With type 2 diabetes, a metabolic disorder resulting from the body's inability to make enough or properly use insulin, the disease is more associated with aging, obesity, family history of diabetes, prior history of gestational diabetes, impaired glucose tolerance, physical inactivity,and race/ethnicity. Because of inactivity and caloric overload, type 2 diabetes is becoming prevalent among children.

Diabetes prevalence rates are expected to increase 165% between now and 2050 affecting 1 in 3 males and 2 in 5 females born in 2000. “Maintaining normal blood sugar levels is a complex balance of food, physical activity, medications, and stress,” says Beverly Bromfield, program director for Oregon/SW Washington American Diabetes Association. “Food and stress (physical and emotional) raise blood sugar while medications and being physically active lower blood sugar.”

Being physically active also has added benefits. You can also walk through worry and dissolve stress; walk your blood pressure and cholesterol down; walk into a healthier heart; walk into better circulation, and you can take the weight off too. . . and keep it off.

According to Dr. Ralph Yates, a Portland, OR-area family physician and sports medicine specialist, sports medicine research has been performed on exercise modalities and has consistently demonstrated that walking is one of the finest means of getting and staying in shape and can help prevent type 2 diabetes.

“Specialists looked at seated aerobic exercise equipment and have found them to be about 40% as effective as minute-for-minute brisk walking — walking works all body parts,” says Dr. Yates who is also the team physician for the Portland Winterhawks and the University of Portland athletic teams. He also serves on the board of directors for the national American Diabetes Association Research Foundation and the Portland Leadership Council.

Would you like to become a walking miracle? The American Diabetes Association (ADA) and the National Diabetes Education Program says you can be. The ADA proudly supports the messages promoted by the National Diabetes Education Program, “Small Steps, Big Rewards. Prevent Type 2 Diabetes.”

The “Small Steps, Big Rewards” all-in-one healthy walking kit is available through the ADA at www.diabetes.org. The campaign provides expert advice along with stretching and weight-lifting techniques, healthy eating, and weight loss tips with a free pedometer. The campaign is a joint program with the National Institutes of Health and Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and is a part of the U.S. Department of Human Services, “Steps to a Healthier U.S.” initiative. To learn more about the campaign visit www.ndep.nih.gov.

In addition, ADA has created a new organization in partnership with the North American Association for the Study of Obesity (NAASO) called “Shaping America’s Health” (SAH). This organization helps families and communities make nutrition and physical activity a priority. The organization will immediately begin addressing the public health challenges of obesity through its first initiative, “Shaping America’s Youth” (SAY).

“Our nation’s weight gain is resulting in long-term health consequences, especially for our youngest citizens,” says U.S. Surgeon General Richared H. Carmona, MD, MPH, FACS. “The good news is that science-based solutions and public-private partnerships like Shaping America’s Health intensifies our ongoing nationwide efforts to increase disease prevention in ways that are accessible to every family, school, and community.”

Research says that you are the “grand prize winner” if you walk an hour a day. But you’re a winner every day if you take any steps for better health and state of mind. Walking is the best investment you will ever make — and could save you from being diagnosed with diabetes. So take the first step towards prevention.

The American Diabetes Association is the nation's leading voluntary health organization supporting diabetes research, information, and advocacy

Loni Kissin is a market manager for the American Diabetes Association overseeing America's Walk for Diabetes. To learn more about diabetes, visit www.diabetes.org or call 888-DIABETES.