Diabetes Pharmacist Blog : Focus Express Mail Pharmacy : Insulin Pumps, Diabetes Supplies and Information

During a CBS 60 Minutes® report entitled The Science of Sleep, research endocrinologist Dr. Eve Van Cauter of the University of Chicago Medical Center said, "Sleep deprivation is a new risk factor for diabetes. We have an epidemic of diabetes and Type 2 diabetes is now occurring in children and in adolescents.

And you know, adolescents and children are sleep deprived. High schoolers are among the most sleep-deprived individuals in our society, because they have enormous sleep need - nine to ten hours. Yet they sleep less than seven hours per night."

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A study published last year in the medical journal called The Lancet confirmed that children with type 2 diabetes are developing further health problems at early ages.  According to the study, many kids already have some of the hallmark side effects of diabetes such as high blood pressure, kidney problems, or early eye damage when they are first diagnosed with the diabetes.
Dr,Julie K. Silver, M.D., Harvard Medical School has some great advice on what a parent can do.

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News of bariatric surgery restoring high blood sugars to normal in grossly overweight people has made the rounds lately. Now, similar surgery on people who are NOT overweight has gotten similar results. According to the Washington Post News Service, this surgery is promising but the mechanism of action is uncertain.

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Focus Express Mail Pharmacy Inc. of Horsham,PA  donated more than $25,000 in pedometers, educational materials, programs, and grant money to the Haverford School District elementary schools to kick off Peds for Prevention, a program to increase children's physical activity and healthy food choices. Each elementary school participated in a walking program sponsored by the company and raised money for the district's Education Foundation. Focus Express also donated $3,000 for health and wellness initiatives to the three top performing schools.

Pictured above, walking the final 2000 Steps on April 26, 2008 in foreground are Greg Vitali (PA State Representative), Nick Braccia (Focus President), Ellen Fisher (President of The Haverford Township School District Education Foundation) and Joel Shpigel R.Ph.  (Focus CEO)   along with the hundreds of children and parents who participated.

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So So there's been a study that shows that people who live in neighborhoods where there are more fast food restaurants have higher rates of diabetes and obesity. Is it me or is that a no brainer?And, what's more, this rate increase goes across all racial lines, all ethnic lines, AND all income lines! 

The study found obesity rates to be 20% higher in neighborhoods with five or more times as many fast-food outlets as produce vendors, compared with those with three or fewer and Diabetes rates were 23% higher! That's quite significant. It's been suggested that all restaurants post caloric and nutritional content for all of their food like what New York was just mandated to do. That's ok but I have a better idea. Why doesn't someone set up a MAXIMUM healthy caloric content figure per sandwich, snack, side order, etc and if a food goes over that, a CAUTION NOTICE must be posted and/or printed on wrappers or boxes of take out food saying the following:

CAUTION: THIS FOOD IS OVER THE RECOMMENDED CALORIC INTAKE LEVEL PER MEAL AND REPEATED INGESTION MAY LEAD TO OBESITY AND/OR DIABETES.

Kind of similar to a label on a package of cigarettes. Nah, it won't work.

People still smoke and that can lead to CANCER!

(Picture from http://www.obesity-experts.com/Fast-Food-Obesity.html)

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Researchers are now investigating the strong blood sugar reducing capability of Bitter Melon, a vegetable commonly used in Asia for medicinal use.

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It's a connection that wouldn't surprise Dr. Ulysses Magalang, a sleep expert with Ohio State University Medical Center. He says that depriving your body of oxygen often takes its toll.
"We do not know whether sleep apnea actually causes diabetes. What we do know is that patients with sleep apnea have an increased insulin resistance, which is a hallmark of patients with diabetes," says Magalang.

Dr. Magalang also says that  "obesity is a common risk factor for both diabetes and sleep apnea, and fat cells seem to function similarly in both. Studies have shown that wearing airflow masks at night can prevent problems with those fat cells. The problem is, getting patients to wear them."

Research will continue to see if, in fact, there is a direct link between sleep apnea and diabetes.

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In a story published in the LA Times, having a large gut in midlife increases the chance of dementia in old age, according to new research published Wednesday that suggests that abdominal fat is a bigger risk factor than even family history. MORE....

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In a given day:

• 4000 new cases of diabetes will be diagnosed.
• 600 people will die from diabetes complications.
• 200 people will undergo an amputation due to diabetes.
• 100 cases of kidney failure will occur due to diabetes

These statistics were grimly uttered by Ann Albright, Director of the Division of Diabetes Translation for the Center for Disease Control (CDC).Additionally, she said that "of the children born in America in 2000, one in three will develop diabetes in their lifetime."

In addition, according to the American Diabetes Association (ADA), there are 21 million people in the United States who are diagnosed with diabetes and if something dramatic does not occur in the next 20 years, this number will double! The costs for diabetes will exceed $174 billion dollars in 2008.

• $116 million on medical expenditures
• $58 million on reduced national productivity

"We are spending $174 billion dollars each year on diabetes, just imagine what that will be like when the number of diabetics double" says former Acting US Surgeon General Dr. Kenneth Moritsugu.

The ADA further states that "individuals with diabetes have medical expenditures at about 2.3 times higher than those without diabetes. The average cost incurred among individuals with diabetes is $11,744 per year with $5,649 attributed directly to diabetes."

This has gone from being a serious problem to one that will soon affect every person in this country! Why you ask? Here's why:

• Insurance companies will be paying more for medical costs which will raise EVERYONE'S insurance premiums.
• There will be lower productivity in the workplace which will hurt these same employers who will be paying the higher premiums.
• There will be reduced earnings for individuals and families.
• There will be higher taxes for us all as a portion of the burden of increased health care costs will affect the government and guess who has to pay for that?
• All of this combined means a lower quality and standard of living.

These statistics do not lie. They're getting worse every day. Something has to be done NOW to help everyone who has diabetes but even more let's do all we can, as individuals,  to PREVENT diabetes (Type II)  from occurring in ourselves, our families, and our friends.

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According to the National Institutes of Health and the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the number of children and adolescents with type 2 diabetes is on the rise as more and more kids become obese. For more, click here...

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