A Growing Health Concern

Type 2 diabetes is one of the most challenging public health issues facing Canadians today. Rates of this disease are reaching alarming levels and rising rapidly. Canadian health experts say that one adult is diagnosed with this form of diabetes every 8 minutes, and that in the next 20 years, the number of people with type 2 diabetes will grow by a staggering 40 percent. Locally, health officials estimate that about 7 percent of adults in Lambton County may already have the disease.

While diabetes itself can cause serious health problems, it is the complications, or health problems that happen as a result of diabetes, that pose a more immediate threat to those affected by this disease. Diabetes reduces life expectancy greatly, and people with diabetes are at much higher risk (a 300% increase) of heart attack. Heart disease is the number one cause of death for diabetics.

What Causes Type 2 Diabetes?

Although seen as relatively recent, the increase in type 2 diabetes has not happened overnight. The rise of this disease is seen as the result of a gradual, yet dramatic change in lifestyle. Within the last 50 years our society has adapted to urbanization by driving more and doing much less physical labour. Our "fast food" culture has drastically changed our eating habits. In very simple terms, the increase in chronic diseases such as heart disease and type 2 diabetes is the direct result of a sharp decrease in physical activity combined with diets consisting of large portions and high fat foods.

Who is at Risk?

The main risk factors - things that are linked to type 2 diabetes - are:

• overweight, especially if weight is mostly around the stomach

• age 45 years or older

• a parent brother or sister with diabetes

• a member of a high risk ethnic group - African, Hispanic, Asian or Aboriginal

• high blood cholesterol or other fats

• diagnosed with gestational diabetes or having had a baby weighing more than 4 kilograms (9 pounds)

• high blood pressure

• the presence of diabetes related complication such as heart disease and eye disease

People with one or more of the above risk factors should see their family doctor to talk about their risk of developing diabetes.

First Steps: Raising Awareness

Before we can begin to address the problem of type 2 diabetes, it is important to raise awareness about the disease and its enormous impact on our society. People need to understand the issue, and more importantly, they need to understand it affects them directly.

Because an effective prevention strategy must take a long term effort involving health professionals, educators, local associations and the general public, a key first step is to raise awareness about the impact of type 2 diabetes.

Prevention Strategies

One of the most positive pieces of news about type 2 diabetes is the fact that it is preventable. Because the disease is so closely related to "lifestyle" behaviour such as physical inactivity and poor eating habits, it makes sense that if we change our behaviour, we will reduce our risk.

While this may sound like a simple solution, putting it into practice by changing our behaviour as a population is never easy - but it’s not impossible. If we look at other behaviour -related health issues such as impaired driving or smoking, we know that people will make changes to their behaviour if they understand and acknowledge the health risk, and have the proper support systems in place to help them make changes.

Lambton Diabetes Prevention Project

To support a long term community effort to reduce the burden of type 2 diabetes, the Community Health Services has joined forces with Healthy Living Lambton, North Lambton Community Health Centre and the Sarnia District Branch of the Canadian Diabetes Association.

This group will work with the community to raise awareness about the health risks related to type 2 diabetes and to provide programs designed to increase physical activity and healthy eating. The focus of the project will be to encourage and support people in making "healthy choices" about what they eat and their level of physical activity.

Making Healthy Choices

Making healthy choices sounds easy, but let’s face it, our high speed world can get in the way. It’s hard to always eat healthy. It’s hard to make physical activity part of our lives. Big changes are hard to make, but if we all make enough small changes, we can be healthier. The key goal of the Lambton Diabetes Prevention project is to help make healthy choices easier to make - and stick with. The project will bring this approach to two places where we spend a great deal of time, at school and at work.

Healthy Choices at School

With rates of child obesity and inactivity growing at alarming rates, the school is a good setting to begin teaching children how to make healthier choices. Outside the classroom, things like nutrition policies and bringing the "play" back into the playground will also be part of the Healthy Choices at School program.

Healthy Choices at Work

We may not think of it often but the modern workplace can have a large impact on our health. Increased levels of stress, not taking time to eat properly, and lack of exercise are often symptoms of today’s "just-in time" working life. Making healthy choices at work includes having access to nutritious foods (healthy snacks in meetings, vending machines and cafeterias), and building regular physical activity into our day by taking the stairs, or a lunch hour walk.

A Call to Action

Like any successful health promotion program, it will take a long term approach involving many people to reduce the incidence of type 2 diabetes in Sarnia Lambton. But we know that by raising awareness, changing the way we think and act and giving people the tools they need to make healthy choices, we can make a difference. The choice is ours.

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