diabetes

November is National Diabetes Month

October 29, 2018 By hailley

A lot of diabetes information is shared during the month of November. The yearly American Diabetes Association campaign raises awareness about diabetes and encourages people to make healthy changes. The message must be getting through because people with diabetes are living longer and healthier than ever before!

This does not mean that managing diabetes is easy. It takes hard work for each person to predict how food, exercise, and stress will affect their blood sugar readings. And most of this work goes unseen and unappreciated by those around them as many family members and friends misunderstand the basics.

Even so, people with diabetes are succeeding in the management of their disease and leading successful careers. There are long lists of performers, business leaders, scientists, etc. that have been diagnosed with diabetes. Below is a selected list of modern athletes who have juggled type 1 diabetes while performing at the top of their sport:

Scott Verplank – started playing professional golf in 1986. Now on the Champions Tour.
Michelle McGann – became an LPGA tour member in 1989. Now on the Legends Tour.
Gary Hall – won a total of 10 Olympic medals as a swimmer in the 1996, 2000 and 2004 games.
Barbara Jardin – retired from swimming in 2016. Swam for Canada in the 2012 Olympic Games.
Jay Cutler – played 12 seasons as an NFL Quarterback between 2006 and 2016.
Missy Foy – world ranked elite marathon runner. Qualified for Olympics in 2000.
Mark Lowe – professional baseball pitcher. 2018 marked his 12^th season.
Sara Groenewegen – a pitcher for the Canadian Women’s National Softball team since 2013.
Will Cross – mountain climber who ascended highest peaks on all 7 continents
Zippora Karz – soloist ballerina with the New York City Ballet from 1983 – 1999.

If you know someone with diabetes, take a minute to show encouragement and to recognize all that they do to take care of themselves! And if you want to learn more about diabetes, check out useful information on the Dedham Diabetes website.

-Cathy M., Diabetes and Exercise Consultant at Dedham Health

Diabetes Prevention is in the Air!

March 20, 2018 By hailley

This Spring, qualified Medicare members will have a new benefit available to them. For the first time ever, the cost of attending a program that may help to prevent or delay type 2 diabetes will be covered.

Programs to prevent diabetes have been around for many years. And they have been very successful for most people. Now, expanded coverage will allow more people to attend a 16 week Medicare Diabetes Prevention Program near them. The coverage change starts on April 1, 2018.

To qualify, you have to meet one of these two categories:

1. Be at least 18 years old AND

Be overweight (body mass index ≥25; ≥23 if Asian) AND
Have no previous diagnosis of type 1 or type 2 diabetes AND
Have a blood test result in the prediabetes range within the past year:
- Hemoglobin A1C: 5.7%–6.4% OR
- Fasting plasma glucose: 100–125 mg/dL OR
- Two-hour plasma glucose: 140–199 mg/dL

2. Be previously diagnosed with gestational diabetes

If this sounds like you, ask your health care provider to refer you to a program. You can find programs in your area at: www.cdc.gov/diabetes/prevention

And remember, DHAC understands how to be on your team. We have helped hundreds of people learn to live well with diabetes and prediabetes. Learn how we can help you at dedhamhealthdiabetes.com!

-Cathy M., Diabetes and Exercise Consultant at Dedham Health

Diabetes Alert Day: What Does Your BMI Have to Do With It?

March 19, 2018 By hailley

If you have read anything about being healthy, you have probably come across a short series of letters – BMI. This stands for Body Mass Index. But how is it calculated? What is it? What does it mean for you? Because Diabetes Alert Day is almost here, we are going to focus on the link between the BMI and type 2 diabetes.

First of all, the BMI is calculated using a formula based on your height and weight. A quick search of the internet will yield calculators to do the work for you. If you are curious about your BMI, here is one to try: NIH

Then what is it? Simply put, your height does not change much as an adult. However, as you gain or lose weight over the years, this means that you have more or less volume (mass) on your body. Studies show that the higher the BMI, the higher the risk for certain diseases. However, this formula does not take into account other important factors about your weight. Such as, how much fat is on your body? And where is that fat stored? In the belly? On the hips? Or how much lean muscle do you have? All of these factors influence your risk of disease.

The BMI is very useful when looking at trends and changes in large populations. For example, the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) reported that in 2016 38% of US adults met the BMI criteria for obesity. This is a dramatic change from 1990 when only 11% of the adult population met this criteria. Over this same time period, the percentage of people diagnosed with diabetes has increased from 2.5% to 9.4%. Based on this type of data, we have a better understanding of how obesity and type 2 diabetes are connected.

So, what does your BMI result mean for you? Your BMI will let you know which broad criteria you meet – underweight, normal, overweight or obese. But this does not tell you enough about your personal health risk. What you need to do is measure your waist. Fat stored in the belly causes insulin resistance. If you are a male, your waist should measure less than 40 inches. If you are a female, this measure should be less than 35 inches. If it is over, your risk for type 2 diabetes is greater.

One other option is to have your fat mass measured. This is also called your body composition. There are different ways that this can be done. Underwater weighing, air displacement and X-ray systems are very accurate but are not always an option. Skin calipers can be used to measure the thickness of fat layers on certain areas of the body. The easiest are scales that measure the flow of a small electric current as it runs through the body. All of these will provide you with the percentage of fat versus fat-free weight. For example, a person who weighs 200 pounds and has 20% body fat has 40 pounds of fat stored. This leave 160 pounds of bone, organs, muscle, water and connective tissue.

If you know, or want to have your body fat percentage measured, remember that some fat is essential for health and women have a biological need to store more fat than men. This is why the obesity criteria for women is a fat percentage over 32% and for men it is over 26%.

As you consider the options and what they mean for you, it should be clear that there is a connection between obesity and type 2 diabetes. And if you have diabetes, you will probably not be surprised to learn that A1c values trend higher in people who have higher body fat percentages.

Think about all of this on Tuesday, March 27. This is the date for 2018’s Diabetes Alert Day. On this day, events will be held around the country to inform Americans about type 2 diabetes.

And don’t forget to consider how DHAC can help you change things around. Each member of our Exercise Physiology staff holds a college degree in Exercise Science. You will find that their expertise and commitment will help you develop a safe and effective approach to exercise for diabetes and weight control. For more information, visit our website, here.

-Cathy M., Diabetes and Exercise Consultant at Dedham Health

What Do the New Blood Pressure Guidelines Mean for You?

November 28, 2017 By hailley

Odds are you have had your blood pressure checked during your lifetime. Probably even within the last year. You may already be one of the millions of people who are being treated for the disease. Or you may be one of the additional 31 million Americans who just found themselves added to the list!

For the past few decades, your health care team considered a normal blood pressure reading to be below 140 (systolic) / 90 (diastolic). Based on new evidence, heart risks were found to be much lower in people when their readings were less than 130 / 80. US medical organizations are now instructing health care professionals to diagnose and manage patients according to these updated guidelines.

So the next time you have your blood pressure measured, be prepared to have a different type of discussion based on these numbers:

Then consider how your food choices and physical activity plan can help you improve your blood pressure. If you are not sure if making healthy changes are worth it, consider this information. Eating a healthy diet can drop blood pressure readings up to 11 points. Starting a structured exercise program can drop blood pressure readings by as much as 8 points. And for every 2 lbs of weight loss, blood pressure readings can drop by 1 point.

Discover how DHAC can help. Our exercise physiology staff has the experience and knowledge to get you started. The $60 for 60 days program may be just what the doctor prescribed! Check it out, here!

To learn more about blood pressure, click here: American Heart Association

-Cathy M., Diabetes and Exercise Consultant at Dedham Health

Worried About Your Loved One Falling?

September 12, 2017 By hailley

Falls are the number one cause of injuries and death among older American adults.

As we age, so does our ability to react quickly and to changes in position, as well as the ability to determine our body positioning (proprioception). While these are natural effects of aging, they are just a few qualities required in order to stay upright and react effectively to avoid trips and falls. On top of that, 25% of older adults have Diabetes, which due to peripheral neuropathy, further increases their risk of falling.

Fact: and older adult falls every single second, every single day in the United States.

So, what’s the solution to prevent falls?

Answer: a program that focuses on improving balance and stability, such as BASE at Dedham Health.

Here are 6 exercises that may be introduced in these programs:

Foot Taps – Stand in front of the lowest step at a staircase and tap one foot up on the step at a time and return to base level alternating 20 times. Hold onto railing if you need and progress to not holding on at all.
Head Rotations – stand tall in a doorway and turn your head from one side, slowly to the other side 10 times. Progress to not holding on with your hands.
Standing Marches – While standing between two walls or in front of a table to hold o to, slowly elevate one knee hip high and hold for several seconds before changing legs 20 times. Progress to not holding on as you improve.
Sit-to-Stands – Stand with your back to a sturdy chair. Sit back into the chair and if possible without using your hands, stand back up and repeat 10 times.
Single-leg Stands – Stand on one foot and hold for 10-15 seconds and change legs. Repeat 5 times each leg.
Over- the -Shoulder-Walks – Walk from one end of a hallway to the other while maintaining your gaze all the way to the right, then repeat maintaining your gaze to the left. Progress to not holding on at all. Repeat 5 times.

For more details on these exercises, click here.

For more information on the BASE Program at Dedham Health, visit our website, here.

-Margie Tierney, Director of Physical Therapy at Dedham Health