Tarrant Nephrology Associates will recognize National Men’s Health Week this week, as well as Men’s Health Month throughout the month of June, by educating men about preventing and controlling diabetes, which is the leading cause of kidney failure.
Approximately 13 million men have diabetes in the United States. Men with diabetes can face devastating complications from unmanaged diabetes, especially since people with diabetes are at a high risk for heart attack and stroke. If left untreated, diabetes can wreck havoc on nearly every part of the body.
Recent research finds that looking at a man’s waistline may give a better idea of his diabetes risk than looking at his body-mass index. The study from Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health showed men with waist sizes bigger than 34 inches were at least twice as likely to have diabetes. Those with waist sizes of 40 and above were up to 12 times more likely to have type 2 diabetes. Both BMI and waist circumference are useful tools to assess health risk.
Exercise, combined with a healthy diet, can prevent type 2 diabetes. Moderate weight loss – for those who are overweight – and 30 minutes a day of physical activity reduced the chance of diabetes by more than 50 percent in men at high risk, according to one major study.
Making some small changes can help you to prevent or slow down illness. Men take charge of so many parts of their life – so their own health shouldn’t be any different.
