From left, Lisa Kuklis, Registered Dietitian/Diabetes Services Coordinator, Renee Fliss, Diabetes Education Assistant, and Maureen Mau, Diabetes Nurse Educator
If you don’t live with diabetes yourself, then it’s likely you have a family member or friend who does. Diabetes is a challenging disease that affects the entire family in many ways.
“ If you are living with diabetes or have a loved one with the disease, family support is very important when it comes to managing diabetes and preventing serious health problems,” explains Maureen Mau, Riverwood diabetes nurse educator. “ It’s also important to know that if you have a family history of diabetes—such as a mother, father, brother, or sister—you are at risk for developing type 2 diabetes.”
There are two main types of diabetes. Type 1 diabetes, often diagnosed in children, limits insulin production and its causes are not well defined. Type 2 diabetes, which accounts for more than 90 percent of diabetes cases, has been linked to older age and family history, although it is increasingly being diagnosed in younger Americans and is associated with obesity and inactivity. Risk factors for type 2 diabetes include being overweight, getting too little physical activity, and having a parent, brother or sister with diabetes.
In addition, some women develop gestational diabetes during the late stages of pregnancy. Although this form of diabetes usually goes away after the baby is born, a woman who has had it is more likely to develop type 2 diabetes later in life. Gestational diabetes is caused by the hormones of pregnancy or a shortage of insulin.
Symptoms of diabetes include frequent urination, abnormal thirst, excessive appetite accompanied by weight loss, fatigue, recurrent infections, slow wound healing and changes in vision.
Diabetes affects 26 million Americans, with 19 million people diagnosed and 7 million undiagnosed. And an estimated 79 million American adults aged 20 years or older have prediabetes, which puts them at high risk for developing the disease.
Diabetes prevention
Prediabetes is an elevated blood glucose level that is not quite high enough to be diagnosed as diabetes, but is higher than normal. One in three American adults has prediabetes, and most do not even know they have it. Many people with prediabetes who do not lose weight or do moderate physical activity will develop type 2 diabetes within three years.
Mau adds: “This November during National Diabetes Month, ask yourself if you’re at risk of type 2 diabetes and take steps to prevent it. Type 2 diabetes can be prevented or delayed with some modest lifestyle changes. Diet and moderate exercise–30 minutes 5-7 days a week–resulting in a 5-7% weight loss–usually about 10 to15 pounds–are often effective enough to bring blood sugar levels back down to a healthy range.”
Riverwood Healthcare is offering a prevention program called I CAN Prevent Diabetes. This community-based, lifestyle change program offers diabetes prevention education and support for people with pre-diabetes or who are at risk for pre-diabetes.
The class series will be offered for 16 weeks on Tuesdays, from December 3 through April 1, 4:30 to 5:30 p.m. at Riverwood Healthcare Center in Aitkin. The I CAN Prevent Diabetes class series is offered at no cost to participants. For registration information and to find out how you can qualify to participate, call the Riverwood Diabetes Center at (218) 927-8281.