Do you know your risk for type 2 diabetes so you can access the right information and care?
Associate Professor Anthony Dear, from the Eastern Health Clinical School at Monash University, says the precursors for type 2 diabetes are:
• being overweight
• over 55 years old
• 45 or older and overweight
• over 35 and Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander background, or Pacific Island, Indian or Chinese background
• family history of type 2 diabetes e.g. parent, brother, or sister with it
• smoking
• physically active less than three times a week
• have had gestational diabetes (diabetes during pregnancy).
The following can assist, he says.
Lose weight and keep it off. You may be able to prevent or delay diabetes by losing five to seven per cent of your starting weight.
Move more. Get at least 30 minutes of physical activity five days a week. If you have not been active, talk with your healthcare professional about which activities are best. Start slowly to build up to your goal.
Eat healthy foods most of the time. Eat smaller portions to reduce the number of calories you eat each day. Choose foods with less fat, drink water instead of sweetened beverages.
Stop smoking. Smokers are 30-40 per cent more likely to develop type 2 diabetes.
Prof. Dear says: “It’s never too late to make a conscious effort to reduce the health problems associated with type 2 diabetes. Diet, regular exercise, healthy eating and weight, together with medications if required, can avert the long-term health consequences of type 2 diabetes, which include cardiovascular disease impacting heart, brain, kidneys, eyes and legs.
“We do have choices and modern medicine can potentially help make these choices a little easier.”
Are you conscious of the risks of type 2 diabetes?
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