What Can We Do About the Diabetes Epidemic?
Because Asian Americans are at a higher risk of developing diabetes than other populations—especially people with a family history of diabetes—frequent screening should occur in this population. In addition, a study in China showed that lifestyle modification with appropriate dietary changes and/or physical activity significantly lowered the incidence of progression to diabetes among adults with impaired glucose tolerance. You can decrease your risk of getting diabetes by:
- Maintaining a healthy weight (To see if you need to lose weight, click here)
- Following a balanced diet that controls calories and limits saturated and trans fats. (To learn more about the balanced diet, click here)
- Building physical activity into your life every day. (To watch Joslin's exercise video, click here)
- Setting realistic goals
- Keeping track of your progress
The best way to prevent diabetes is by following these advice. In fact, there has been good evidence showing that lifestyle changes are more effective in preventing diabetes than taking medications. Because Asian Americans are generally less obese compared with Caucasians, many do not know diabetes is reaching epidemic proportion in this population. Therefore, it is important to discuss with your health care providers on a regular basis about testing for diabetes if you have any of the risk factors (To take Type 2 Diabetes Risk Assessment Questionnaire, click here). While Asian Americans parents generally want their children to grow to a larger physical size than themselves, this cultural belief is likely to lead to overnutrition and obesity in the second and third generation Asian Americans. Just remember that diabetes is a disease that currently has no cure, prevention is the key!
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