If Not Now, When?

THIS ISSUE: The Double Whammy - Diabetes and Obesity

Table of Contents:

1) Editor's Note
2) Food for Thought
3) Feature Article: The Double Whammy - Diabetes and Obesity
4) Teleclasses
5) Question & Answer
6) Our Services

Editor's Note

Hi,

Well the holiday season is upon us. This is a great time to connect with family and friends. My wife and I will be making our annual holiday trip back to Chicago to see our kids, grandchildren, other relatives and friends. My wife has already started to shop in earnest for all the gifts we want to get. Last weekend we went to a giant craft show in a large retirement community on the edge of Phoenix. There were over 300 exhibitors with some beautiful and creative items for sale

One of the big problems with the holidays is that we often visit with friends and relatives during parties. There's nothing wrong with a good party, but the conditions often help us to overeat and gain weight. My main article and my Q/A for this month address the problems of being overweight. They are serious issues that many of us need to watch more closely.

Good luck, keep exercising, and remember – "If not now, when?".

Best Wishes,

Tom Manfredi


Send any comments you may have to tom@fitness-after-50.com

My site fitness-after-50.com

Food for Thought

Feature Article - The Double Whammy - Diabetes and Obesity

Diabetes is an insidious disease that has doubled in the last decade, currently affecting over 24 million people in the U.S. alone. Some experts believe it won't be long before that number exceeds 30 million. Serious long-term complications include cardiovascular disease, chronic renal failure, retinal damage, which can lead to blindness, several types of nerve damage, and microvascular damage, which may cause erectile dysfunction and poor wound healing. Poor healing of wounds, particularly of the feet, can lead to gangrene, possibly requiring amputation.

Type 2 diabetes is the most common form of the disease in adults. The predisposition to the disease is largely genetic. But why has there been such an explosion in the last decade? One parallel is the rise in obesity. Some surveys indicate that as many as one in three Americans is actually obese (see my Q&A on the definition on obesity). And, obesity is present in an overwhelming majority of type 2 diabetics. Because of this connection, these two disorders are often referred to as the twin epidemics.

In a survey conducted by Consumer Reports in 2009, almost three of every four respondents listed being overweight as one of the risk factors present before diagnosis of type 2 diabetes. When asked about strategies that helped them to successfully manage their diabetes, the most important were improving diet, losing weight, and increasing activity. The bottom line: controlling obesity is critical to managing diabetes.

Is there something that can be done to halt this epidemic increase in diabetes that seems to be directly related to obesity? According to a three year study published in the New England Journal of Medicine in 2002; people at high risk for type 2 diabetes who had a 7 percent weight loss through diet and 30 minutes of exercise, five days per week, resulted in a 58 percent drop in the expected incidence of the disease.

The solution to tackling obesity and diabetes is simple. You can't choose your parents, but there are no reasons why you can't lose weight and exercise regularly.

(c)2005 - 2009 Thomas D. Manfredi, MS

Teleclasses

I will be announcing upcoming teleclasses in this section in the future.

If you have a topic that you would be interested in hearing about in a teleclass, send an e-mail to teleclasses@fitness-after-50.com

Questions and Answers

Answer - Yes. For a person to be overweight they need to be over the ideal weight set for their sex, age, and height. Ideal weight is defined as the weight with the lowest mortality rates, and charts for this can be found on the Metropolitan Life Insurance Company web pages. To be obese you need to be more than 20% over the ideal weight.

Another definition involves calculating your BMI (body mass index). If your BMI is more than 25 but less than 30, you are considered overweight. If your BMI is more than 30 your are considered obese. You can find BMI calculators by searching for "BMI" on any search engine.

To get more information on various fitness and health issues, please go to my site – www.fitness-after-50.com


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If you have a fitness or nutrition question you would like me to consider answering here in the newsletter, just send your question, along with your first name and city, in an e-mail to quesandansw@fitness-after-50.com

Obviously, I can't answer every question submitted. I will choose one question each month to answer here.

About Our Services

On line fitness coach Tom Manfredi is the creator of the site "fitness-after-50". This site is designed with the mature adult in mind. There is a lot of information available on the site for anyone looking to start or restart a sensible exercise program. Learn more by going to www.fitness-after-50.com



Tom Manfredi, 1218 Easy St., Ste 101, Wickenburg, AZ 85390

Other Services and Information

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Well, a woman I know here in Arizona recently sent me some info about a company that offers $1,ooo,ooo coverage to help take care of the problem if someone steals your identity. The company is called LifeLock. You can get to their site by clicking on the banner below if it's visable, or by copying the following code into your browser –

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