Diabetes ToolKit

Diabetes Toolkit

“Following an exercise regimen and watching what I eat has been very helpful,” says diabetes patient, Theodore Lymes. Theodore Lymes has battled diabetes for fifteen years. He says given his poor diet, sedentary lifestyle combined with a family history of diabetes, it was no surprise when he was diagnosed. But quickly, Theodore moved to action, losing weight and working out.

"My blood glucose levels are under control", says Theodore. Theodore is now back on track and millions of patients need to follow suit. The American Diabetes Association is now making available a Weight Loss Matters Professional Toolkit to help health care providers communicate with their patients about the importance of losing weight, getting more exercise and improving their diet in order to stem the tide of type 2 diabetes and its serious complications.

"The Diabetes Association had a sense that many of these health professionals don’t know enough about obesity and diabetes, how to treat obesity to make the diabetes better", says Dr. Xavier Pi-Sinyer, director of the Obesity Research Center at St. Luke’s Roosevelt Medical Center. The diabetes kit includes pamphlets and a CD with specific information on behavior modification, nutrition, portion control, blood pressure, blood sugar and exercise. "Many health professionals, doctors, nurse educators feel don’t feel competent to give patients advice on nutrition and on physical activity. This diabetes kit helps them to approach the patient", says Dr. Pi-Sinyer.

According to the CDC, the incidence of diabetes has jumped over 50 percent over the past ten years in large part due to the fattening of America. But, even just slight weight loss can markedly reduce one’s risk of developing diabetes. Dr. Pi-Sinyer explains, "We’ve become incredibly sedentary and that is a risk factor. Physical activity helps keep the blood sugar down and keeps metabolism of the body much better. It burns more energy, so you utilize more of the energy than you eat".

Theodore says "that the diabetes kit is empowering diabetic patients. If the majority of people with type 2 diabetes would heed the instructions in the diabetes kit, their lives would be better, they’d live longer".