Advocates Unite to Prevent Type 2 Diabetes During National Diabetes Awareness Month
One in three. That’s the number of people in the United States who will have diabetes by 2050 if current trends continue. Twenty-six million Americans – seven million of which are undiagnosed – now live with diabetes and another 79 million have pre-diabetes. To raise awareness and spotlight effective prevention strategies, patient advocates are mobilizing to promote National Diabetes Awareness Month and American Diabetes Month® this November.
Paul DeMiglio
As a disease that constitutes one of the leading causes of death and disability in the United States, diabetes is a disease in which glucose blood levels are elevated above their normal range. Those living with diabetes are also at higher risk of heart disease and stroke. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), the risk factors for type 2 diabetes include:
- Being 45 years of age or older
- Being overweight
- Having a family history of Type 2 Diabetes
- Engaging in physical activity fewer than three times per week
- Giving birth to a baby that weighed more than 9 pounds
- Having gestational diabetes (diabetes during pregnancy)
Although type 1 diabetes cannot be prevented because people are born with it, individuals can lower their risk of developing type 2 diabetes through a variety of practical strategies. The CDC’s National Diabetes Prevention Program is an evidence-based program for preventing type 2 diabetes. A public-private partnership of community organizations, private insurers, employers, health care organizations and government agencies, it teaches participants how they can incorporate physical activity into daily life and eat more healthfully, helping them to:
- Cut their risk of developing type 2 diabetes in half
- Lose 5-7 percent of body weight through modest changes in behavior
- Reduce the risk of diabetes in people with pre-diabetes by 5 percent
The program pairs people with a lifestyle coach, in a group setting, to receive 16 core sessions and six post-core sessions over the course of a year. These lifestyle coaches work with the participants to identify emotions and situations that can sabotage their success. The group process encourages participants to share approaches for dealing with challenging situations.
Along with their National Diabetes Prevention program, the CDC also provides a Registry of Recognized Programs that lists contact information for community resources offering type 2 diabetes prevention programs. The registry was created to help health care providers more effectively refer their patients to the services they need, while also empowering patients to find and choose the programs that are right for them. For more information about diabetes and other diseases from CDC, you can sign up for e-mail updates here.
The National Diabetes Education Program (NDEP) is also committed to raising awareness and providing resources around issues such as diabetes risk, family support, and community support. The goal of their campaign – Control Your Diabetes. For Life – is to increase awareness about the benefits of diabetes control through education materials, fact sheets, sample articles and PSAs for radio, print and television. A major part of their focus is also placed upon bringing diabetes information to community settings such as schools, worksites, senior centers and places of worship.
“Although the prevalence of diabetes has continued to rise due to the obesity epidemic, the aging of the U.S. population, and increasing numbers of people at high risk for diabetes, there are strong, encouraging indicators of progress in preventing and treating diabetes,” said Joanne Gallivan, M.S., R.D., Director of NDEP. “Today, there is much greater awareness that diabetes is a serious disease, a critical first step in changing outcomes. In 1997, only 8 percent of Americans believed diabetes was serious. In 2011, 84 percent of Americans understood that it is a serious disease.”
The American Diabetes Association (ADA), which works to “raise awareness of this ever growing disease,” leverages American Diabetes Month® to illustrate how diabetes impacts Americans. By asking people to submit photos that show “A Day in the Life of Diabetes,” the ADA plans to create a large mosaic that demonstrates how diabetes affects patients, families and communities nationwide from personal perspectives.
“Participating in ‘A Day in the Life of Diabetes’ for individuals living with diabetes lets them know that the American Diabetes Association is the one leading organization that continues to do research to ‘STOP Diabetes,’ advocate and promote ‘Healthy Lifestyle Management’ to avoid many of the health issues that people with diabetes die from, such as heart disease or stroke, kidney failure, blindness, and amputations,” said Lurelean B. Gaines, RN, MSN, President of Health Care and Education of the Association. “The campaign has grown this year and will continue to grow because every 17 seconds someone is diagnosed with diabetes.”
To learn more visit ADA’s website at www.diabetes.org and click on Diabetes Basics, Living With Diabetes, Food Fitness, Advocate, In My Community, or News & Research. Information is available in English and Spanish. You can also “like” ADA on Facebook, follow them on Twitter (@AMDiabetesAssn) or call them at 1-800-Diabetes.
How can your community more effectively collaborate with stakeholders like ADA, CDC and NDEP to prevent diabetes and help those living with the disease?