Mark Twain is quoted as saying, “New Orleans food is as delicious as the less criminal forms of sin.”
Unfortunately, this legal form of sinning may not come without its own form of punishment. Based on the latest diabetes statistics from the National Center for Chronic Disease Prevention and Health Promotion, about 1 out of 10 people in Louisiana have been diagnosed with diabetes — primarily the type 2 “adult onset” type.
It likely takes more than just too much good Southern food to create the conditions that lead to diabetes. Mississippi, Alabama, West Virginia, Kentucky, Oklahoma and Tennessee all have comparable rates of diabetes, and the national prevalence of diabetes has been climbing rapidly and steadily since the mid-1990s.
QUESTION: What is likely causing diabetes rates to climb?
ANSWER: There are many theories, but most likely it comes down to a “perfect storm” of variables coming together to create the conditions that promote the problem.
Diabetes risk increases with age, so as long as the older population continues to increase, diabetes rates are expected to rise. That’s one thing we can’t control. But what we can do is strive to reach and maintain a healthy body weight and stay physically active as we get older. Of course, that’s easier said than done.
Q: What preventive measures could reverse the diabetes trend?
A: Getting back to basics might be the most important goal. Those who have become very sedentary may just need to get moving more. The current recommendation is to accumulate at least 150 minutes of moderate physical activity every week, or about 30 minutes a day.
Dietary adjustments do not need to be extreme. Rather, finding ways to cut back on high-fat foods in simple ways such as using less butter or mayonnaise, or picking leaner cuts of meat. For some people, consumption of high-carbohydrate foods may be too high, and changes like one scoop of rice instead of two, cutting back on candy snacking, or selecting a smaller size of that fruit smoothie could make a difference. Whether from fruit or the sugar bowl, sugar is sugar. Once it is absorbed into the body, it is all the same.
Q: How does Hawaii rank in diabetes rates?
A: According to the recently released 2012 Diabetes Report Card from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Hawaii is doing a bit better than average. Still, almost 1 of every 8 adults in Hawaii has been diagnosed with diabetes. So, the problem is substantial.
Recognizing this growing health challenge, the state Department of Health partnered with the University of Hawaii and just about every hospital and health agency you can think of to develop the Hawaii Diabetes Plan to help guide and coordinate collaborative community efforts in prevention and management of diabetes statewide.
One of the goals of these efforts is to increase public awareness of the serious health consequences of diabetes. These consequences include heart disease and stroke, eye disease and blindness, kidney disease, nervous system disease and amputations, dental disease, and complications in pregnancy. By identifying those with prediabetes, it is hoped that prevention efforts will substantially reduce both human suffering and health care costs.
———
Joannie Dobbs, Ph.D., C.N.S., and Alan Titchenal, Ph.D., C.N.S., are nutritionists in the Department of Human Nutrition, Food and Animal Sciences, College of Tropical Agriculture and Human Resources, University of Hawaii-Manoa. Dobbs also works with University Health Services.
