P H O T O : V EE R
h e a l t h y y o u
W orlds W ith o u t
D IA B E T E S
257
W ELL-BEING
264
FITNESS
268
NUTRITION
270
D iabetes
Lessons from low-risk
nations can help keep us
free of Type 2 diabetes
here at home.
FAMILY HEALTH
272
FAMILY MATTERS
278
BY
DAVID FEDER, R.D.
he keys to avoiding and reversing Type 2—once
called adult-onset—diabetes are scattered
across the world. All it takes is a close look at
populations where this disease is rare to
understand what we here in the United States
can do to control our diabetes epidemic. The word
epidemic is not an overstatement: About 24 million
Americans have diabetes. Of these, about a quarter don’t
even know it yet and likely won’t be diagnosed until their
symptoms worsen or the disease is found on a routine
physical. Another 57 million people in the United States are
classified as prediabetic, which means they have an impaired
ability
7
to process glucose and are well on their way to
developing the full-blown disease. Diabetes and prediabetes
affect about one in four Americans—a staggering number,
especially for a disease that is often preventable.
BETTER
HOMES
AND
GARDENS NOVEMBER
2008
2 5 7
