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Are You At Risk?
Do you know the risks and symptoms of diabetes? You should. Diabetes is among the leading causes of death in the United States.
If the following apply to you, you may be at high risk for diabetes:
Do you have a relative with diabetes?
Are you overweight?
Do you exercise?
Have you given birth to a child weighing over 9lbs?
Are you of African American, Latino, Native American, Asian-American or Pacific Islander descent?
If two or more of these apply to you, talk with your doctor about diabetes testing. Its estimated that six million Americans have diabetes, but have not been properly diagnosed.
If you have questions, call us at 260-435-7010.
Weight Management
The Lutheran Weight Management Center can help you manage your diet, safely and effectively. Whether you have diabetes, or are overweight and at risk for diabetes, we can help you with controlling your weight and improving your overall health.
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In 2002, diabetes cost the United States $132 billion
(source: National Institute for Health)
Almost everyone knows someone who has diabetes. An estimated 17 million people (over 6 percent of the population) in the United States have diabetes. It's estimated that another six million have diabetes, but have not yet been diagnosed.
Diabetes is a metabolism disorder, the way our bodies use digested food for energy. Most of the food we eat is broken down into glucose, the form of sugar in the blood. After digestion, this sugar (called glucose) passes into the bloodstream, where it is used by the body. For glucose to get into cells, the pancreas has to create insulin.
People with diabetes either don't have the right amount of insulin (little or none), or the cells do not respond appropriately to the insulin that is produced. Glucose builds up in the blood, overflows into the urine, and passes out of the body, leaving the person without the energy necessary for the body to do all it does.
There are three types of diabetes: Type I, Type II and Gestational. Diabetes is one of the leading causes of death and disability in the United States. Almost a half-miillion deaths are attributed to diabetes each year in the U.S.
Diabetes can cause or contribute to blindness, heart and blood vessel disease, strokes, kidney failure, amputations, and nerve damage. Uncontrolled diabetes can complicate pregnancy, and birth defects are more common in babies born to women with diabetes.
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