An alarming 25 percent of people with diabetes are unaware that they have the disease — just one reason why the fourth Tuesday of every March is dedicated to raising diabetes awareness.
Are you worried about your chances of developing type 2 diabetes? If you’re not, you should be.
Diabetes Risk Factors
That’s because the numbers are staggering: Nearly 26 million Americans have diabetes, and another 79 million are considered prediabetic and at high risk of developing the condition. Yet perhaps the most frightening statistic of all is that one in four people with diabetes isn’t even aware that he or she has the disease, because the symptoms may be mild to non-existent. And over time, untreated diabetes can cause big health problems — from heart disease to nerve damage to blindness.
But there’s an easy way to find out if you’re at risk of type 2 diabetes. The fourth Tuesday of every March (that’s tomorrow!) is the American Diabetes Association’s Diabetes Alert Day, focused on raising awareness of this disease through a simple online test.
Unlike type 1 diabetes, which is usually first diagnosed in children and teens, type 2 diabetes is more common in those over age 40 (although the numbers of kids with type 2 has also gone up in recent years). Other factors that influence diabetes risk include family history, ethnic background, being obese or overweight, having a history of gestational diabetes (diabetes that develops during pregnancy), or inactivity.
The ADA’s Diabetes Risk Test can’t diagnose type 2 diabetes or prediabetes — for that, you’ll need to visit your doctor. But learning about your diabetes risk can give you the incentive you need to get started on the road to a healthier lifestyle, and in the process cut your chances of getting the disease.
Want more proof? A September 2011 study in Annals of Internal Medicine, which reviewed data from more than 200,000 adults, found the five most important lifestyle factors for preventing type 2 diabetes were eating a healthy diet, keeping body mass index (BMI) below 25, not smoking, getting at least 20 minutes of aerobic exercise a week, and drinking in moderation. And while doing any one of these was shown to reduce diabetes risk, the researchers concluded that accomplishing all five can cut risk by a whopping 80 percent.
To take the Diabetes Risk Test, visit the ADA’s Facebook page or Web site beginning tomorrow, or call 1-800-DIABETES (1-800-342-2383). You’ll be helping to raise funds for a good cause: For each test taken until April 27, 2012, the company Boar’s Head has pledged to donate $5 to the association. And your responses could just turn out to be a life-saver for you or someone you know.
Follow @DiabetesFacts for the latest diabetes news and information from the editors of @EverydayHealth.
Wednesday, March 28, 2012
One Chocolate A day gets you slimmer
MONDAY, March 26, 2012 (HealthDay News) — Here's a sweet surprise for chocoholics: A new study finds that people who eat chocolate regularly are somewhat skinnier than folks who don't indulge their sweet tooth.
The findings don't prove that chowing down on chocolate will melt off your excess pounds. It's possible that another factor is responsible for the modest difference in body mass, or it might be a statistical fluke.
But for now, study lead author Dr. Beatrice Golomb said the findings "reduce any possible guilt that might come with chocolate consumption." Golomb, an associate professor at the University of California, San Diego, said she hopes to better understand what's going on through future research.
As foods go, chocolate is a hard one to figure out. It includes antioxidants, substances that counteract damaging agents in the body. And consumption of chocolate has been linked in other studies to a variety of positive health effects from lower blood pressure to better cholesterol levels. On the other hand, chocolate can come with plenty of calories and fat.
In the new study, Golomb and colleagues reviewed food questionnaires filled out by nearly 1,000 people who were asked how often they ate chocolate. Their average age was 57, and 68 percent were men.
The researchers then tried to find any connections between chocolate consumption and the body mass index (BMI) of the participants. BMI is a calculation based on height and weight that is used to determine underweight, overweight and obesity in adults.
Participants' average BMI was 28 — overweight but not obese. On average, they ate chocolate twice a week and exercised between three and four times a week.
The study found that those who ate chocolate the most often had lower BMIs than the others, even when the researchers adjusted their statistics so they wouldn't be thrown off by factors such as age, gender, education and fruit and vegetable consumption.
For the typical person, the difference between frequently eating or infrequently eating chocolate could account for a 5- to 7-pound difference, Golomb said.
The findings "certainly weren't explained by the chocolate eaters eating fewer calories. They ate more calories and didn't exercise any more," she said.
It's not clear, however, what kinds of chocolate the participants ate, although most would probably have interpreted the question as asking about candy, Golomb said. Milk chocolate is fattier than dark chocolate.
Golomb cautioned that the study does not say that chocolate consumption will help people lose weight.
"It is not a siren call to go out and eat 20 pounds of chocolate a day," she said.
However, the study suggests that diet composition may influence the body's metabolic processes, and therefore BMI, she said.
So why would chocolate fanciers be thinner than others? Dr. Daniela Jakubowicz, a professor at Tel Aviv University in Israel who has studied chocolate, said previous research has shown that diets that force people to avoid sweets actually make them more drawn to them. In her own research, she found that people were actually better able to tolerate a diet when they ate chocolate.
Golomb said that, ideally, future research will randomly assign some people to eat chocolate and others to avoid it. But that may be a challenge, especially if some participants refuse to go without it.
"We have a few pesky details to iron out," she said.
The study, funded by the U.S. National Institutes of Health, was published online March 26 in Archives of Internal Medicine.
The findings don't prove that chowing down on chocolate will melt off your excess pounds. It's possible that another factor is responsible for the modest difference in body mass, or it might be a statistical fluke.
But for now, study lead author Dr. Beatrice Golomb said the findings "reduce any possible guilt that might come with chocolate consumption." Golomb, an associate professor at the University of California, San Diego, said she hopes to better understand what's going on through future research.
As foods go, chocolate is a hard one to figure out. It includes antioxidants, substances that counteract damaging agents in the body. And consumption of chocolate has been linked in other studies to a variety of positive health effects from lower blood pressure to better cholesterol levels. On the other hand, chocolate can come with plenty of calories and fat.
In the new study, Golomb and colleagues reviewed food questionnaires filled out by nearly 1,000 people who were asked how often they ate chocolate. Their average age was 57, and 68 percent were men.
The researchers then tried to find any connections between chocolate consumption and the body mass index (BMI) of the participants. BMI is a calculation based on height and weight that is used to determine underweight, overweight and obesity in adults.
Participants' average BMI was 28 — overweight but not obese. On average, they ate chocolate twice a week and exercised between three and four times a week.
The study found that those who ate chocolate the most often had lower BMIs than the others, even when the researchers adjusted their statistics so they wouldn't be thrown off by factors such as age, gender, education and fruit and vegetable consumption.
For the typical person, the difference between frequently eating or infrequently eating chocolate could account for a 5- to 7-pound difference, Golomb said.
The findings "certainly weren't explained by the chocolate eaters eating fewer calories. They ate more calories and didn't exercise any more," she said.
It's not clear, however, what kinds of chocolate the participants ate, although most would probably have interpreted the question as asking about candy, Golomb said. Milk chocolate is fattier than dark chocolate.
Golomb cautioned that the study does not say that chocolate consumption will help people lose weight.
"It is not a siren call to go out and eat 20 pounds of chocolate a day," she said.
However, the study suggests that diet composition may influence the body's metabolic processes, and therefore BMI, she said.
So why would chocolate fanciers be thinner than others? Dr. Daniela Jakubowicz, a professor at Tel Aviv University in Israel who has studied chocolate, said previous research has shown that diets that force people to avoid sweets actually make them more drawn to them. In her own research, she found that people were actually better able to tolerate a diet when they ate chocolate.
Golomb said that, ideally, future research will randomly assign some people to eat chocolate and others to avoid it. But that may be a challenge, especially if some participants refuse to go without it.
"We have a few pesky details to iron out," she said.
The study, funded by the U.S. National Institutes of Health, was published online March 26 in Archives of Internal Medicine.
Group sought wedge between blacks, gays to fight same-sex marriage
(CNN) -- A national group opposed to same-sex marriage aimed to fight it by driving "a wedge between gays and blacks" and identifying "glamorous" Latino artists and athletes to advocate traditional marriage, according to newly released confidential memos.
The strategies were among several pursued by the National Organization for Marriage (NOM), which has actively campaigned against same-sex marriage efforts.
The Human Rights Campaign, a gay rights organization, said it obtained the documents, part of a civil action in Maine, on Monday and published them on its website.
"This court-ordered disclosure shows NOM fighting a losing battle with strategy and tactics that are racially and ethnically divisive, filled with false political calculations, and out of touch with the majority of fair-minded Americans," Human Rights Campaign said in a statement.
Most of the memos were written in 2009. The president of NOM did not dispute the authenticity of the memos, saying in an online statement, "Gay marriage is not a civil right."
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The memos highlight several efforts to fight same-sex marriage initiatives, which NOM contended were backed by the "pro-gay Obama agenda."
"The Latino vote in America is a key swing vote, and will be so even more so in the future because of demographic growth," one NOM memo states. "Will the process of assimilation to the dominant Anglo culture lead Hispanics to abandon traditional family values? We can interrupt this process of assimilation by making support for marriage a key badge of Latino identity."
Plans included Spanish language radio and TV ads, pamphlets and YouTube videos.
NOM also targeted what it termed "Democratic power bosses" it claimed were inclined to put the interests of gay rights groups "over the values of African-Americans."
"The strategic goal of this project is to drive a wedge between gays and blacks -- two key Democratic constituencies," another memo states. "Find, equip, energize and connect African-American spokespeople for marriage; develop a media campaign around their objections to gay marriage as a civil right; provoke the gay marriage base into responding by denouncing these spokesmen and women as bigots. No politician wants to take up and push an issue that splits the base of the party."
NOM argued "gay marriage is the tip of the spear, the weapon that will be and is being used to marginalize and repress Christianity and the Church."
The organization said Tuesday it was proud of its "strong record" on minority partnerships.
Brian Brown, president of NOM, touted the group's work with prominent African-American and Hispanic leaders.
"Gay marriage advocates have attempted to portray same-sex marriage as a civil right, but the voices of these and many other leaders have provided powerful witness that this claim is patently false," Brown said in a statement. "Gay marriage is not a civil right, and we will continue to point this out in written materials such as those released in Maine. We proudly bring together people of different races, creeds and colors to fight for our most fundamental institution: marriage."
NOM has been instrumental in the campaign to stop same-sex marriage laws, including Maine.
Lawmakers there in early 2009 approved a measure legalizing such marriages, but voters in the state later that year passed a referendum to overturn the new law.
An effort is currently under way to put a similar measure on the ballot this coming November. A coalition on Tuesday launched Mainers United for Marriage, which wants Maine to become the first state to win marriage for same-sex couples through a ballot measure.
The release of NOM documents follows the successful 2009 efforts to overturn Maine's same-sex marriage law.
The court case came about after the Maine Ethics Commission opened an investigation based on a fund-raising complaint from Fred Karger of Californians Against Hate. He alleged financial backers of Stand for Marriage Maine were concealing their identities. NOM was a major contributor to Stand for Marriage Maine, a political action committee, documents showed.
NOM, which refused to disclose the names of donors, eventually filed a lawsuit. It claims the commission had limited authority to investigate.
Freedom to Marry, which supports same-sex marriage, blasted NOM's tactics, as outlined in memos that were submitted for depositions.
"NOM has spent years working to drive wedges within communities across the nation, all the while claiming it does not 'hate' anyone, gay or non-gay," said group President Evan Wolfson in a statement. "Now exposure of NOM's own strategy memos confirms that NOM will stop at nothing to push its agenda, pitting American against American, minority against minority, family members against family members."
Monday, March 26, 2012
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