Health Watch

Tackling diabetes, a growing health care crisis

Posted: Jul 25, 2011 8:44 AM by Brittany Wooley- KTVQ News
Updated: Jul 25, 2011 8:52 AM

BILLINGS- The number of diabetes cases in the U.S. is rising at an alarming rate.

The American Diabetes Association reports that in 2010 1.9 million new cases of diabetes were diagnosed in people 20 years and older, and more than 25-million Americans have diabetes.

The good news may be that the type of diabetes that can be prevented, Type II, makes up about 95-percent of all diabetes cases, according a Billings St. Vincent Health Care registered dietitian, Beverly HcHugh.

She says proper diet and exercise resulting in weight loss can can control the condition.

Gary Moore decided to participate in a diabetes prevention program when he realized he was at risk.

"I'd never thought about diabetes before. We didn't have it in my family. I was always a thin person until I got into my early 40s, and I gained weight and it seemed like all of these things were happening. My cholesterol was going up, and my triglycerides were going up," Gary said.

When he visited the doctor for the first time in more than a year, he received surprising news. One of his blood sugar levels was borderline for diabetes.

"When I started reading about it and realizing some of the other issues I had, I thought, this is something I need to do something about," he said.

So, Gary got his physician's referral and enrolled in a diabetes prevention program. The program focuses on diet and exercise.

"Body fat interferes with your body's ability to use insulin, so when you lose weight, it could make a difference in your diabetes," McHugh said.

And, that just may be the key factor in what some researcher say could be the cure for Type II diabetes--600 calories a day for two months.

None of the eleven patients in the study showed signs of diabetes at the end of the trial.

But, McHugh says a 600-calorie a day diet is extremely difficult to follow, and those on the diet run the risk of serious nutritional deficits.

"When you lose weight very rapidly, you also run the risk of losing muscle mass, in addition to fat mass, and most of us don't have enough muscle to begin with," she said.

And, according to McHugh, because the trial didn't involve a lifestyle change, people are likely to put the weight back on.

"In my experience people need to change habits. What they choose every day, how much activity they get, in order to really make a difference in their health," she said.

After participating in a 10 month prevention program, Gary has made some lifestyle changes, including exercising more, and rather than eating out for lunch, he has a healthy office picnic with his wife.

"I'm no longer in that high range in term of the long term blood sugars. Once you get the feeling of being motivated and you can make some changes in your life, that's a very empowering feeling," he said.

St. Vincent Health Care and the Billings 'Y' have two prevention programs a year, and they are currently enrolling for classes that will start in August.

For more information on the program, you can give them a call at 237-8599.