Each November is American Diabetes Month, which is a time to remember the more than 30 million Americans who have some form of diabetes.
American Diabetes Month is important to recognize the many programs that are designed to help with diabetes and related issues for those affected by the disease.
Staying physically active reduces your chance of developing diabetes - lifting weights builds cardiovascular fitness and endurance, as well as muscle.
A few more facts about diabetes you may not have known:
- 86 million Americans have prediabetes and have a risk of developing type 2 diabetes.
- The total cost annually in the US for diabetes is $245 billion.
- More than 50% of Hispanic men and women will develop diabetes.
- Two out of five Americans will develop the disease at some point.
Some of the most common risk factors for developing diabetes include:
- Being 45+ years of age
- Obesity
- You have a parent with the disease.
- You have a sister or brother with the disease.
- Your ethnicity is African American or Hispanic American.
- You had diabetes when you were pregnant.
- You exercise less than three times per week.
What You Can Do
To reduce the chance of diabetes, please try to lose weight and engage in regular physical exercise. Getting at least 2.5 hours per week of physical activity is extremely important to cut your risk.
Consider a variety of physical activities to get your weekly allotment of exercise, depending on your physical ability to do so. Even if you have disabilities, there are works outs you can do that improve your fitness and reduce chances of getting diabetes, such as our Chair Yoga DVD:
