Health Matters

Virginia is in the Diabetes Belt

In the U.S., 644 counties in 15 states have the highest incidence of Type 2 Diabetes. Our area has been specifically identified as having a high incidence of diabetes. Right here is where diabetes care and prevention is most needed. Obesity and a sedentary lifestyle are two of the four major contributing factors to the increased incidence of diabetes.

According to the Centers for Disease Control, approximately one in three American adults have prediabetes, but more than 90 percent of these adults don’t even know they are at a high risk for Type 2 diabetes, stroke and heart disease.

Prediabetes occurs when blood glucose levels are higher than normal, but are not high enough to be diagnosed with diabetes. If you’re at a high risk for or have already been diagnosed with prediabetes, prevention of Type 2 diabetes is possible (and highly recommended!), and it doesn’t require killing yourself at the gym every night. 

He may be the jolliest guy of all, but his physician probably isn’t feeling very merry.

Awash in Christmas cookies and candy canes, and participating in an inadequate once-a-year exercise regimen, Santa’s potential health concerns are too many to count. If I were his physician, I would suggest that as he prepares for his busiest night of the year, he should also get ready for few lifestyle changes.