Health Tips For Type 2 Diabetes Prevention

Diabetes is a polygenic disease characterized by abnormally high glucose levels in the blood; any of several metabolic disorders marked by excessive urination and persistent thirst.

Diabetes is no doubt one of the leading cause of death amongst the nigerian populace. It can lead to heart disease, stroke, kidney disease, blindness, or amputation.

Type 2 diabetes accounts for about 90 to 95 percent of all diagnosed cases of diabetes in adults. Type 2 diabetes in children and adolescents, although still rare, is being diagnosed more frequently.

It usually begins as insulin resistance, a condition in which cells do not use insulin properly. As the need for insulin rises, the pancreas gradually loses its ability to produce it. Type 2 diabetes is associated with:

older age
obesity
family history of diabetes
history of gestational diabetes
impaired glucose metabolism
Lack of physical activity
Race/ethnicity

Type 2 Diabetes Prevention
Making small lifestyle changes, like becoming more active and losing a small amount of weight if you’re overweight, and adding additional screening to your annual physical, can go a long way in diabetes prevention can go a long way towards helping prevent or delay the onset of type 2 diabetes.

Losing even 10 to 15 pounds – if you weigh 200 pounds – can make a big difference.

If you have diabetes, you can help prevent complications by making changes to reach your blood sugar, blood pressure, and cholesterol goals. “Prevention steps are especially important if you have a family history of diabetes.”

Health Tips for Type 2 Diabetes Prevention
1. Eat A Proteinous Breakfast.
Consume adequate protein for breakfast to help keep the cravings for sweet foods away and also to stabilize your blood sugar for the rest of the day.

2. Water.
Start replacing coke, diet coke, Fanta, etc, commercial sports drinks, and other sugary drinks with water. This is one of the biggest diabetes prevention tips for children and young people. “Diabetes is striking increasingly younger age groups, and parents would do well to make water the first option when their kids are thirsty.”

3. Glycemic index.
Glycemic index a number which gives you an idea about how fast your body converts the carbohydrate aka carbs in a food into glucose.It also indicates the effect of different foods on your blood sugar levels. Educate yourself about the glycemic index and glycemic load and change dietary habits to choose foods lower on the glycemic index. Anderson explains that different foods can have a different impact on blood sugar elevation. Choosing foods that are lower on the glycemic index — for example, choosing whole grains over processed white flour products — can help stabilize your blood sugar levels.

4. Take the Stairs.
Physical activity maintains insulin sensitivity. Even if you find it hard to incorporate an exercise routine into your schedule, you can engage the muscles of your body by taking the stairs instead of the elevator or escalator. "No type of exercise is ineffective"

5. Know your Body Fat Composition.
A major risk factor in type 2 diabetes is obesity, so lowering body fat and gaining lean muscle mass is recommended. You can Follow this procedure to calculate your body fat composition regularly:

Body Fat Formula For Women
Factor 1	(Total body weight x 0.732) + 8.987
Factor 2	Wrist measurement (at fullest point) / 3.140
Factor 3	Waist measurement (at naval) x 0.157
Factor 4	Hip measurement (at fullest point) x 0.249
Factor 5	Forearm measurement (at fullest point) x 0.434
Lean Body Mass	Factor 1 + Factor 2 - Factor 3 - Factor 4 + Factor 5
Body Fat Weight	Total bodyweight - Lean Body Mass
Body Fat Percentage	(Body Fat Weight x 100) / total bodyweight

Body Fat Formula For Men
Factor 1	(Total body weight(lbs) x 1.082) + 94.42
Factor 2	Waist measurement x 4.15
Lean Body Mass	Factor 1 - Factor 2
Body Fat Weight	Total bodyweight - Lean Body Mass
Body Fat Percentage	(Body Fat Weight x 100) / total bodyweight

EXAMPLE (For Men):
If a man Weighs 220lbs(100Kg), and has a waist measurement of 36 inches, here's how he can calculate the fat percentage of his body.

SOLUTION:
Following the Body Fat Formula for men,
NOTE: 1Kg = 2.2 pounds(lbs). The weight measurement unit used in this calculation is pounds(lbs).
* Factor 1: (220{his weight in pounds} x 1.082) + 94.42 => 332.46
* Factor 2: 36In x 4.15 ========================> 149.4
* Lean Body Mass(i.e. the weight of your body if you had no fat at all):
Factor 1 - Factor 2 (332.46 -149.4) ==========> 183.06
* Body Fat Weight: Total bodyweight - Lean Body Mass (220 -183.06) ==> 36.94
* His Body Fat Percentage is: (Body Fat Weight x 100) / total bodyweight

36.94 x 100/220

===> 16.7

His Total Body Fat Percentage is 16.7

Using the Range for body fat percentage below, he falls in the "fitness" category.

Ranges for body-fat percentage: