In the prevention of endocrinology and metabolic diseases, especially in Type 2 diabetes, it is necessary to have a medical check-up every 2-3 years, even if you have no complaints.
In recent years, type 2 diabetes, which has become rapidly widespread all over the world due to modern life, decreased physical activity and unhealthy nutrition, has become an important public health problem.
According to the data of the International Diabetes Federation; There are 537 million diabetic patients in the world.[1] Since the diagnosis has not yet been made due to its insidious progression, 3.7 million of these people in our country do not know that they have diabetes. It is of great importance to identify these patients and start their treatment early. Because, type 2 diabetes is primarily; It is a serious health problem that can shorten the duration of life while negatively affecting the quality of life by destroying all organs and systems, including cardiovascular, eyes, kidneys and nerves.
Endocrinology and Metabolic Diseases Specialists pointed out that type 2 diabetes is actually a preventable disease and said, “Preventing or delaying diabetes by early detection of people at risk and providing healthy living conditions has become one of the most important goals of today’s medicine. “It is possible to prevent or delay the development of diabetes in people with insulin resistance and prediabetes, that is, hidden diabetes, with healthy nutrition, exercise and, if necessary, drug treatment,” he says.
Endocrinology and Metabolic Diseases Specialists explained the precautions you should take to prevent type 2 diabetes; He made important suggestions and warnings.
Pay attention to the content of food!
In a healthy diet, the total daily calories consumed and the content of the food are important. Experts point out that you should avoid consuming unhealthy foods with high fat and calorie content and say, “Most of the ready-made foods have high fat and calorie content. For this reason, before consuming ready-made foods, the calorie content stated on the package should be examined. On the other hand, consuming excessive amounts of healthy foods can also cause fat accumulation in the body. “Extra calories consumed accumulate as fat in the body and increase the risk of diabetes,” he says.
Move, and lots of it.
Living an active life is of great importance in preventing diabetes. According to researches; Type 2 diabetes is 60 percent more common in people who walk less than 1,500 steps a day and have an unhealthy diet. For an active life, you can walk to the bank or the market instead of making online transactions, and use the stairs instead of the elevator.
Walk briskly at least 2-3 days a week!
Exercise is beneficial to the musculoskeletal and circulatory systems, as well as burning excess fat and ensuring that the body fat ratio remains at desired levels. Fat burning with exercise starts after 20 minutes. Apart from physical activity, get into the habit of doing 30-45 minutes of moderate intensity exercise (such as brisk walking, jogging, cycling, swimming, aerobics) at least 3-4 days a week. In the research conducted; It has been found that the risk of developing diabetes is reduced by 40 percent with 150-300 minutes of moderate-paced walking (at a speed of 5-6 km/h) per week or 75-150 minutes of high-tempo walking (faster than 6 km/h) per week.
Be sure to measure your waist circumference!
Waist circumference measurement reflects the fat in the abdominal area, which poses a metabolic risk. Waist circumference over 80 centimeters in women and 94 centimeters in men poses a risk for diabetes and other metabolic disorders. Men with a waist circumference over 102 centimeters and women with a waist circumference over 88 centimeters are in the high risk group. If your waist circumference is larger than ideal measurements, it is vital to lose weight with a healthy diet and exercise program.
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If you are in the risk group, be careful!
To prevent diabetes, people at risk must be identified early and necessary precautions must be taken. Experts point out that even if you have no complaints, if you are in the risk group, you should be checked by a doctor for diabetes every 2-3 years. Endocrinology doctors list the risk factors of diabetes as follows:
“Being over 40 years of age, obesity, low physical activity, elevated fasting glucose or elevated postprandial glucose, having had gestational diabetes, having given birth to a baby weighing more than four kilos, a history of diabetes in first-degree relatives, unhealthy diet, Hypertension and high cholesterol are factors that predispose to diabetes.”
Quit smoking and alcohol
In the studies carried out;[2] Diabetes is 30-40 percent more common in smokers than in non-smokers. Since alcohol contains high calories, when consumed in excess, it causes fat accumulation in the body and increases the risk of developing obesity and therefore diabetes.
The real culprit in diabetes: The wrong nutritional model of the modern age!
References:
- International Diabetes Foundation (IDF) – Facts & figures (Retrieved on 19 Dec 2023) Available at: https://idf.org/about-diabetes/diabetes-facts-figures/
- Maddatu J, Anderson-Baucum E, Evans-Molina C. Smoking and the risk of type 2 diabetes. Transl Res. 2017 Jun;184:101-107. doi: 10.1016/j.trsl.2017.02.004. Epub 2017 Mar 6. PMID: 28336465; PMCID: PMC5429867. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5429867/