Diabetes and Exercise - Why the Connection is Vitally Important

Almost twenty-one million people in the US are living with diabetes and an estimated 6.2 million of these people don't know that they have diabetes because they are undiagnosed. People with diabetes, on average, have medical expenditures that are 2.3 times higher than non-diabetics, according to the American Diabetes Association. Another study in Population Health Management estimates that diabetes is costing our nation $218 billion dollars in health care every year. Yet, most diabetes cases are preventable or reversible through exercise, weight loss, and healthy living.

I find myself wondering. What if the 6.2 million people who were undiagnosed knew they had diabetes? Or the estimated 57 million Americans with Pre-Diabetes were educated on how they could mange their health and avoid becoming a Type 2 Diabetic?

Being diagnosed as Pre-Diabetic does not mean that Type 2 diabetes is inevitable. If you lose weight and increase your physical activity, you can prevent or delay diabetes and even return your blood glucose levels to normal (ACSM 2006). (See sidebar for diabetes terms defined)

This is a very important point that many people do not understand - if you exercise and lose weight you can prevent or delay diabetes.

Do you know the signs of diabetes? Take a look around you. Do you see any signs of diabetes in your friends and family right now? (See sidebar for common signs of diabetes) It is very possible that there are people that are diabetic (or will become diabetic) around you every day. The Center for Disease Control and Prevention estimates that one in three Americans may develop diabetes in their lifetime. Those statistics are staggering and PREVENTABLE for most.