What Is Obesity

Diabetes and obesity go hand in hand as mass killers of society. Diabetes is the sixth most universal cause of death in the United States and the biggest cause of diabetes is obesity.

Although diabetes is manageable with proper glycemic control and insulin regimen, it has been estimated that about a third of diabetics have never been identified and therefore are never treated. So, the question becomes how do we halt this widespread epidemic and how can those disposed to diabetes and obesity reduce the risk of cardiovascular events in their future?

The solution is simple. Reducing one’s sugar consumption, exercising daily, supplementing you food intake with good nutritional supplements, and eating healthy will increase one’s chances of living a healthy life. It sounds easy but as we “foodies” know, it’s not quite that simple. We just have to decide is it more important to fill our bodies with sugar laden goodies or to have a few toes amputated in the future?

For many years, diabetes has simply been thought of as a relatively benign sickness of the old, but now those of relatively younger ages are becoming affected. Diabetes is the primary reason adults go blind. According to the American Diabetes Association, diabetes has the possibility, for the first time in over a century, reduce Americans life expectancy.

Eventually diabetes will affect us all, whether it is caring for relatives with the illness or simply resulting in higher insurance premiums and taxes. In this couch potato society in which we live, there has been a sharp rise in cases diagnosed worldwide. So, what can we do to stop this and to raise awareness of this problem?

In addition to the things listed above, we also need to inform people to get checked by a doctor. Some signs that you could have undiagnosed diabetes are frequent urination; non healing wounds; constantly thirsty; recurring skin, bladder, and gum infections; numbness in hands and feet; blurry vision. Just because you may not experience any of these symptoms, do not think that you’re safe.

A change of lifestyle will have to be made to prevent the disease from possibly invading your future. Studies show that nearly 60% of newly diagnosed cases could have been prevented or at least significantly postponed if the person had simply got down to a health body weight. In this day of junk food and video games, it can be difficult to make the decision to eat healthy and get plenty of exercise. Everyone has their excuses but we need to give them hope that it can be done and examples of how to start.

As a country we can curtail the epidemic of diabetes and obesity but only if we get the word out and encouraging those who are eating themselves to poor health