According to The Centers for Disease Control, in 2016, more than 29 million Americans, or approximately 9% of the population, had diabetes.  Of the more than 29 million, 21 million were diagnosed, and 8 million were undiagnosed.  Another 86 million American adults have pre-diabetes, the precursor to type 2 diabetes.
Shocking, isn’t it? Â That number is only going way up as more of our population becomes overweight and obese.
Almost 90% of people living with type 2 diabetes are overweight or have obesity so it’s pretty clear that the key to reducing pre-diabetes and type 2 diabetes is through weight control including diet, nutrition, and exercise.
Complications from Diabetes include all of the following:
- Hyperglycemia
- Hypertension
- Dyslipidemia
- CVD Death Rates
- Heart Attack
- Stroke
- Blindness
- Kidney Disease
- Amputations
Diabetes precipitates tremendous costs on personal health and the healthcare system. It was the seventh-leading cause of death in the U.S. in 2016 (76,488 deaths), and it’s one of the primary causes of kidney failure and adult-onset blindness. As much as 20 percent of all healthcare spending is for treatment of diabetes.
As a medical weight loss provider, there are things you can do to help your overweight and obese patients prevent an impending diagnosis of type 2 diabetes.
A healthy diet is the key factor to prevention of pre-diabetes and diabetes but recently, individualized care rather than a “one size fits all” approach has been steadily adapted.
Try the following simple nutrition tips to help your at risk patients.
- Increase complex carbohydrates – these carbs are necessary because they take longer to digest, therefore do not cause rapid spikes in blood sugar.
- Limit salt in your patient’s diet, it is linked to high blood pressure (HBP) and diabetes.
- Meals should be half non-starchy vegetables, one quarter should be lean protein and one quarter starchy carbs.
- Snacks should include a good mix of protein, fat and fiber, this will keep hunger at bay and blood sugar at an even keel throughout the day.
- Have your patients follow the newest guidelines for healthy eating patterns and prevention of chronic health conditions.
- Encourage your patients to keep a daily diet and exercise journal which is a great tool for keeping them accountable for their diet and exercise.
- The pleasure of eating should be maintained so make sure you are offering a variety of nutritious, tasty food choices in your patient’s meal plan.
Studies indicate that weight loss is most beneficial early in the diabetes disease process so before your patients get to a pre-diabetes state, help them get their health on track with good nutrition, diet, exercise and the benefits of weight loss should naturally follow.
To take an individualized approach you may need to find out exactly what motivates your patients to eat well and lose weight, Motivational Interviewing (MI) is a great technique for doing just that.
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Motivational interviewing for weight loss  involves:
- Asking questions and responding to patients’ comments in a way that validates their experiences.
- Helping patients develop reasons for making health behavior changes.
- Acknowledging patients’ control of the decision to change.
- Providing an effective, easy to incorporate, weight loss intervention that addresses stability and adherence.
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Title Image: Pixabay
Sources:
https://www.cdc.gov/diabetes/data/
http://www.diabetes.org/diabetes-basics/statistics/?referrer=https://www.google.com/
http://www.diabetes.org/living-with-diabetes/recently-diagnosed/where-do-i-begin/?loc=lwd-slabnav
