Children's Health & Fitness ? Diabetes Among Elderly Growing

July 20th, 2012 by Len Saunders

From The Sacramento Bee?..

Just as America?s diabetes epidemic began almost two decades ago, Georgia Richardson was diagnosed with Type 2 diabetes, the potentially life-threatening illness that affects the body?s ability to process blood sugar.

?To be honest, I was in denial about my diabetes for awhile,? she said. ?It?s as if I thought, ?Maybe it will go away,? even though I knew it wouldn?t.?

Now 77, Richardson, a retired Sacramento, Calif., teacher, eventually reduced her weight and began an exercise regimen. But she admits she lost valuable time embracing the necessary lifestyle changes that can help combat the disease.

?We need to look at things people don?t want to face,? she said, ?and diabetes is one of them.?

If extending longevity was the signature public health achievement of the 20th century, many experts believe that conquering obesity and Type 2 diabetes ? conditions that often go hand in hand ? will be the key public health challenge of the 21st.

?It?s a largely self-inflicted problem,? said Dr. John Bissell, chief of neurology at Kaiser Permanente South Sacramento Medical Center. ?And there are huge public health problems as a result.?

While doctors also worry about the rise of Type 2 diabetes in younger people, an aging country ? driven in large part by the enormous population wave of the baby boom generation ? is by definition a country coping with a diabetes problem. Older age is one of the main risk factors for the disease, along with obesity, poor exercise habits, certain ethnic backgrounds and genetic predisposition.

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Entry Filed under: Health / Fitness Articles

Source: http://www.lensaunders.com/wp/?p=2281

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