Every day, Evan Bowman leaves his fourth-grade classroom to go to the nurse's office. He greets the nurse, who hands him a small electronic device, which he takes to the corner of the room. With a few beeps and button pushes, Evan pricks his finger and tests his blood glucose level.
He opens a notebook and writes down the number that's blinking on the screen, closes the notebook and tells the nurse, "It's good." Evan has Type 2 diabetes. The walk to the nurses office is an everyday routine for the 9-year-old boy from Minneapolis.
Just like test scores, the nurse checks Evan's notebook where his glucose levels are written down and calls his mother if anything is out of ordinary.
"My doctor says I have diabetes," Evan said on his walk back to his class. "It means I have to watch what I eat, and I have to poke my finger a lot."
Evan is not alone. New numbers from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention show 26 million Americans suffer with diabetes. A staggering 90 percent of those people have Type 2 diabetes, a disease where the human body loses the ability to produce insulin.
The CDC says the number of people with diabetes is climbing faster than they anticipated. Doctors believe the spike is due to increases in obesity and less active children. If the trend continues, the CDC predicts one in three adults in the U.S. will have diabetes by the year 2050.
How can you prevent diabetes?
According to National Diabetes Education Program, prevention is possible. Here are some tips:
- get 30 minutes of moderate exercise five times a week
- reduce your calorie intake
- your goal should be to lose 5-7 percent of your body weight
- set small, obtainable weight loss goals
- start slowly and build up to more intense work outs
- work out with a buddy and encourage each other
Even though Evan can no longer prevent the disease, he is trying to stay in control of it by being more active. Bowman and his mom, who are both overweight, are improving their health together.
"After school we go on walks, or go to the park," he said. "My mom says if I'm healthier I'll feel better."
No comments:
Post a Comment