Yesterday was Halloween, and although I don’t want to be a “party pooper” and understand how much fun the holiday can be— I have to say, seeing so many children walking around with bags of candy—who also appear to be moderately or morbidly obese was disheartening. Ironically, today, the day after Halloween, starts the beginning of American Diabetes Month. So, I’d like to focus today’s blog on diabetes, and more importantly, how we can prevent or slow down the disease with physical activity.

Diabetes complications can be prevented or delayed by properly managing blood glucose, blood pressure and cholesterol levels. Eating healthy, being physically active and quitting smoking also can help lower the risk of diabetes complications.

Prevalence

• Nearly 26 million children and adults in the United States have diabetes.
• Another 79 million Americans have prediabetes and are at risk for developing type 2 diabetes.
• Recent estimates project that as many as one in three American adults will have diabetes in 2050 unless we take steps to Stop Diabetes.

The Toll on Health

• Two out of three people with diabetes die from heart disease or stroke.
• Diabetes is the leading cause of kidney failure and of new cases of blindness among adults.
• The rate of amputation for people with diabetes is 10 times higher than for people without diabetes.
• About 60-70 percent of people with diabetes have mild to severe forms of nerve damage that could result in pain in the feet or hands, slowed digestion, sexual dysfunction and other nerve problems.

How Can Physical Activity Help?

• Keep blood glucose, blood pressure, HDL cholesterol and triglycerides on target
• Lowers risk for pre-diabetes, type 2 diabetes, heart disease and stroke
• Relieves stress, strengthens your heart, muscles and bones
• Improves your blood circulation and tones your muscles
• Keeps your body and your joints flexible

I’m curious to know how many of our Personal Trainers are working with clients who have diabetes or prediabetes? Please share your experiences and success stories so we can all learn from you. I think we all have a responsibility to do what we can to reduce the prevalence of this serious disease. Please share!

If you want to learn more about exercise program design for individuals with diabetes, please check out our online course, Exercise Program Design for Special Populations. We have a section completely dedicated to Diabetes. Also, our Personal Trainer Certification and Older Adult Exercise Specialist Certification touch on the importance of safe and effective exercise to prevent and slow down this disease.

For more information about Diabetes and American Diabetes Month, please visit http://www.diabetes.org/diabetes-basics/?loc=GlobalNavDB