Researchers have clear clinical evidence that it is possible to significantly reduce the risk of developing type 2 diabetes, and to manage the disease effectively by adopting a few simple lifestyle habits.
These include:
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Maintaining a healthy weight
Excess weight is one of the main risk factors for diabetes that we can control.
Whether a person is obese or not, abdominal fat is a risk factor for diabetes and other diseases such as cancer and cardiovascular disease.
Physical activity coupled with good nutrition is a winning combination reaching our healthy body weight and keeping the pounds off.
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Keeping active
To prevent and manage type 2 diabetes, it is recommended you do at least 30 minutes of physical activity a day-ideally every day of the week.
Physical activity has many other benefits, such as increasing your energy level, helping to control stress, boosting your immune system and even improving your mood!
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Getting tested
Recent clinical practice guidelines issued by the Canadian Diabetes Association stress the importance of early detection in the treatment of diabetes. It is estimated that between 30% and 50% of diabetics do not even know they have the disease!
People with type 2 diabetes often have few or no symptoms, and the disease may be difficult to detect without a test. Unfortunately, many cases are only diagnosed when complications occur.
To reduce the risks associated with late detection, new screening guidelines were recently recommended to Canadian physicians :
- Adults over 40 should be tested every three years.
- Adults with additional risk factors should be tested at an earlier age and more often.
- Obese children over 10 should be tested every year if at least two risk factors other than obesity are present.
Diabetes can also cause blindness; see your ophthalmologist for more information.