DIABETES: 'The Most Preventable Disease Out There'

September 2008, Article 2

So you've read Steps 1-7 in the accompanying article and still need a more compelling reason to start paying attention to weight control? In one word, that reason would be diabetes. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, almost 24 million Americans have diabetes, and approximately 57 million people over age 20 have pre-diabetes.

Obesity is considered the leading risk factor in type 2 diabetes, which was previously referred to as adult-onset diabetes. While there are several types of diabetes, type 2 accounts for about 90 to 95 percent of all diagnosed cases of adult diabetes. It usually begins as insulin resistance, a disorder in which the cells do not use insulin properly. As the need for insulin rises, the pancreas gradually loses its ability to produce it. It can lead to serious complications, such as blindness, kidney damage, cardiovascular disease, and lower-limb amputations.

The common misperception is diabetes is inevitable if parents or grandparents had it. "It is so tragic to me that so many patients end up diabetic and it didn't have to happen at all," says Laura Aiken, community health specialist for WakeMed Health & Hospitals and a contributor to the program Eat Smart, Move More North Carolina. "Type 2 diabetes is possibly the most preventable disease out there."

WakeMed is taking a proactive approach in an ambitious education program aimed at preventing diabetes at a young age. Its Children's Diabetes ENERGIZE! Program is designed to teach at-risk children ages 6 to 18 how to build lifelong, healthy attitudes about food and fitness and has proven to be a great success. Based on positive results compiled from the Wake County program in the past year, the N.C. Legislature approved funding to implement the program in five additional counties across the state. Additionally, ENERGIZE! won a coveted NOVA Award from the American Hospital Association (AHA) this summer.

"We believe ENERGIZE! could be a national model to help curb the emerging epidemic of type 2 diabetes," commented Bill Lagarde, MD, WakeMed pediatric endocrinologist and ENERGIZE! medical director. "ENERGIZE! reaches kids before elevated blood glucose and excess weight causes lasting health effects by arming them with the information they need to prevent or delay the onset of diabetes."

Children are eligible for ENERGIZE! if they have elevated blood glucose levels or metabolic syndrome, indicating high risk of developing type 2 diabetes. They participate in a 12-week, three-night-a-week, community-based intensive education and lifestyle change program with lessons in nutrition, physical fitness, and behavior change. To date, more than 500 children have completed the program. To learn more, go to www.wakemed.org and type "Energize!" in the search tool.


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