Take Action
Tips can help prevent or delay
type 2 diabetes.
A
s you grow older, you have a
greater chance of getting type
2 diabetes. Being age 45 or
older, overweight or obese, or having
a family history of diabetes increases
those chances. But you can take steps
now to prevent or delay getting type
2 diabetes in the future. The National
Kidney Foundation of Michigan offers
tips on taking your first steps toward
preventing diabetes today.
In Michigan, an estimated 10.4 per-
cent of adults have diagnosed diabetes
— about 799,350 people. An addition-
al 27.8 percent of adults in Michigan
are thought to have diabetes but are
currently undiagnosed. When diabetes
is not managed properly, it can lead
to kidney failure, heart disease, blind-
ness, lower-extremity amputations and
other health complications.
However, many cases of type 2 dia-
betes can be prevented or controlled
through a healthy lifestyle. If you’re at
risk for type 2 diabetes, you can pre-
vent or delay the onset of the disease
by losing 5 to 7 percent of your body
weight. For those who have type 2 dia-
betes, losing weight can be helpful in
controlling your diabetes.
The National Diabetes Education
Program (NDEP) recommends these
small steps to lower your risk of dia-
betes:
• Choosing healthy foods and
reducing portion sizes are both very
important. Your plate should be filled
half with fruits and vegetables, one
quarter with a lean protein and one
quarter with a whole grain. Eating a
small serving of dessert at the end of a
healthy meal is OK, but not every day.
Sweets and desserts have a lot of fat
and sugar.
• Moving more and sitting less can
help you stay at a healthy weight and
become more flexible. Dancing around
to music, stretching and moving
around during television commercial
breaks, walking around while talk-
ing on the phone, and parking your
car farther away and walking to your
destination are all fun, simple ways to
add more activity into your day. Also,
remember to warm up and stretch
before your exercise.
• Making a lifestyle change can be
easier with help from your loved ones,
so encourage them to get involved.
Offer healthy food options to your
grandkids, friends and family; enjoy
a walk with them around a park; or
teach younger family members how to
plant and take care of a garden. These
are great ways to include them in your
new lifestyle changes.
• Make a plan. Plan how you will eat
healthy foods and move more. Think
about what is important to your health
and what changes you are willing and
able to make. To get started, choose
one goal to work on and decide what
steps will help you reach your goal.
• Find out how your insurance cov-
erage can help prevent type 2 diabetes
through exams, tests, checkups and
different workshops.
• A doctor can tell you if you are
at risk for diabetes, or you can find
out your risk via the risk test at www.
nkfm.org/dpp. Contact the National
Kidney Foundation of Michigan for
programs or classes near your commu-
nity, and for resources on preventing
type 2 diabetes at www.nkfm.org or
call (800) 482-1455.
*
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really
counts.
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