Basic HTML Version
November 11, 2012
HEALTHY LIFE: DIABETES
17
Professionals work to change the conversation about
OBESITY AND TYPE 2 DIABETES
By JORDY BYRD
Pamplin Media Group
J
uleeanna Andreoni is part
of a growing trend of health-
care providers and educa-
tors who want to change the
national conversation about obesi-
ty and Type 2 diabetes.
Andreoni is licensed dietitian
and certified diabetes educator at
Providence. While she acknowledg-
es that Americans have “lost their
way” in regards to healthy lifestyle
choices, she said the doom and
gloom messages of the past decade
are counterproductive.
“The obesity topic has been talk-
ed to death,” she said. “We really
need to change the conversation.
Let’s remove the focus from weight
and put it on behavior.
“It’s not about the blame and
shame message — that’s the obesity
message — and it turns people off,
makes them feel hopeless, and it
doesn’t seem to be effective.”
According to the Centers For Dis-
ease Control and Prevention (CDC),
one third of adults are obese. Ac-
cording to a 2011 CDC report, 27
percent of Oregonians are obese.
The state percentage, while stag-
gering, fares well compared to
states like Mississippi where 35 per-
cent of the population is obese. The
obesity epidemic is not only taking
a toll on people’s waistlines but the
nation’s diabetes rates.
The relationship between obesity
and Type 2 diabetes isn’t definitive
— but the correlation is strong. Ac-
cording to the American Diabetes
Association, about 85 percent of
people diagnosed with diabetes are
overweight. The association reports
that gaining too much weight is a
major contributor specifically to
Type 2 diabetes, as excess fat cells
can affect the way the body breaks
down sugar and produces insulin.
Excess weight may also increase
the body’s insulin resistance.
“In the United States we have a
huge influx of diabetes, so much so
that it’s difficult to even provide ev-
eryone with services,” Andreoni
said. “Your risk to diabetes is di-
rectly related to how you are taking
care of meals and snacks and move-
ment, and managing stress ... We
are just so out of balance here,
that’s what tips our scales.”
About the disease
Type 2 diabetes is the most com-
mon form of diabetes. In Type 1 dia-
betes, the body’s immune system
destroys the cells that release insu-
lin, so that over time the body can’t
produce insulin at all. In Type 2 dia-
betes, the cells of the body become
resistant to insulin or when the
pancreas cannot make enough insu-
lin, which causes high blood sugar.
Ultimately, the lifelong disease af-
fects the way the body uses food for
energy.
Insulin is a hormone that helps
the body’s cells use sugar for ener-
gy. It also helps the body store extra
sugar in muscle, fat and liver cells.
Without insulin, this sugar can’t
get into cells to do its work — it
stays in the blood instead — caus-
ing blood sugar levels to increase.
High blood sugar can have harmful
effects on the eyes, heart, blood ves-
sels, nerves and kidneys. It can also
increase one’s risk for other health
problems.
Yet some people with Type 2 dia-
betes experience little to no symp-
toms — especially if the disease is
diagnosed early. The most common
symptoms, which are associated
with high blood sugar, include: feel-
ing extreme thirst and hunger, fre-
quent urination and blurred vision.
While symptoms vary, treatment is
relatively universal.
People diagnosed with Type 2 dia-
betes are encouraged to control
blood sugar levels with a healthy
diet, weight loss (if necessary), reg-
ular exercise and medication. The
same treatment options can be used
to prevent or delay the disease alto-
gether.
“I like to talk to my clients more
in regards to daily self care with
food, activity and stress manage-
ment,” Andreoni said. “We don’t
have so much control over weight,
so focus on what we can control.”
Andreoni referenced the Health
at Every Size movement — a belief
system that focuses on intuitive eat-
ing and pleasurable physical activi-
ty rather than dieting and weight
loss. She said the movement can
difficult for some in the medical
community to embrace.
“When doctors see the weight
number coming down, it’s true that
other numbers start to move,” she
said, referring to symptoms like
high blood pressure. “If you just fo-
cus on the numbers, you see that
it’s working, but you have to take
the human element into consider-
ation...we tend to be overly weight
focused and the messages are too
judgmental.”
Instead of strictly focusing on
variables like the Body Mass Index
— a proxy for human body fat
based on an individual’s weight
and height — the diabetes educa-
tors and healthcare professionals
at Providence focus on setting be-
havioral focus goals for their pa-
tients.
Andreoni encourages clients to
avoid unhealthy food temptations
by being prepared and packing
healthy meals for the day. She en-
courages clients to eat for taste and
health, and to maintain a positive
relationship with food. Most of all,
she encourages regular movement
— even a 10-minute walk at lunch
— of any kind.
Andreoni said positive messages
paired with behavioral changes can
help overshadow polarizing mes-
sages about extreme diets, weight
loss and obesity, and ultimately
take the “blame and shame” away
from those diagnosed with Type 2
diabetes.
If successful, the message would
have positive effects on the state of
Oregon and the nation.”
When we catch it at the pre-dia-
betes stage we can prevent it from
going farther,” she said. “If we are
able to make these strides, people
will be able to manage their diabe-
tes much better and prevent the
risk of heart disease and stroke...we
need to provide awareness, plans to
take better care of ourselves and re-
ally show people support in the pro-
cess.”
■
CDC reports 27 percent of Oregonians are obese
PAMPLIN MEDIA GROUP: JAIME VALDEZ
Diabetes educator Juleeanna Andreoni said society should take the blame and shame messages away from Type 2
diabetes.
“It’s not about the blame and shame message — that’s the
obesity message — and it turns people off, makes them feel
hopeless, and it doesn’t seem to be effective.”
— Juleeanna Andreoni, diabetes educator at Providence