The CDiabetes News Brief: September 1 to 7, 2014
Compiled and edited by Elizabeth Klein, MPhil
People With Low Incomes Find It Harder To Lose Weight
It can be hard to get the exercise you need to stay healthy, especially if you don’t have enough money to pay for things like gym memberships. This has a much bigger effect on your health you might think. A recent study showed that poor people are more likely to be obese and have a harder time losing weight, partly because they can’t afford gym memberships or special meal plans. These things are often expensive, so many poor people use products like diet pills instead. Unfortunately, these measures can make things worse in the long run.
Low Birth Weight Connected To Risk Of Diabetes In Later Life
Most healthcare providers know that a person’s birth weight can be a sign of how healthy that person will be when they’re older. Children with low birth weight sometimes have health problems as adults. New research has shown that black women, in particular, had a high chance of getting type 2 diabetes if they had low birth weight. The risk was 13% higher when they had a birth weight lower than 5.5 pounds, and went as high as 40% when it dropped below 3.3 pounds. Other things, like the patients’ weight as adults, did not affect these risks.
High-Stress Jobs Increase Risk Of Type 2 Diabetes
Stress is a serious problem for a lot of people. If you have a stressful job or lifestyle, you’re much more likely to get diabetes. A new study from Germany has found that people who work high stress jobs and are not able to control how their work is done are at much higher risk of diabetes. In some cases, the study participants were over 60% more likely to get the disease. Other things that might change this, like how much a person exercises or what they eat, were found not to contribute to this high risk.
Negative Stereotypes Harm Health In Some Hispanic People
How you see yourself can be a big part of how you live. It can affect what foods you eat, how much you exercise, and how you relax. That’s why negative stereotypes, like those racial and ethnic minorities have to face, are bad for health in a lot of ways. New research has shown that Hispanic people are more likely than white people to agree that some negative stereotypes about them are true. This can discourage them from taking steps to better their health. Interestingly, this is more likely to happen if a person is born in the US than if he or she is originally from another country.
Pomegranate Juice Lowers Blood Glucose In People With Diabetes
You may have heard that to keep your blood glucose levels under control, you should avoid fruit juice. However, in a recent study of 85 people with type 2 diabetes, pomegranate juice helped to keep blood glucose levels low. Just over 100ml of pomegranate juice for an average weight person was enough to lower their blood glucose to healthier levels. Scientists say this juice also shows good results for heart, prostate, and joint problems, but more research is needed to be sure.
Obesity Is Enough To Increase Risk Of Diabetes
Healthcare providers often say that being overweight or obese makes you more likely to get type 2 diabetes, but they’re not always sure why this is. Some believe that it’s connected to other problems that cause diabetes, but new research shows that this might not be true. 734 people who got diabetes during tests showed that just being overweight was enough to increase the risk. This was still true even if the person had no other problems that could cause the disease. Researchers say that shows how important weight loss is for people at risk for diabetes.
Soda Tax And Advertising Ban Could Lower Obesity In Young People
Sugary drinks like sodas and sports drinks are bad for your health, and can cause diabetes or obesity if you have too many. That’s why researchers now say that putting a special tax on these drinks, as well as banning advertising for them in public places, could lower the rise of obesity and diabetes in young people. They also say that the money raised from the taxes could be put towards special programs for preventing obesity in young people.
Lack Of Sleep Leads To Obesity In Teenagers
Sleep is very important, and healthcare providers say that good sleep even lowers your chances of becoming obese. In a study of over 10,000 Americans, nearly 20% said they got less than 6 hours sleep a night when they were 16 years old. Compared to those who got at least 8 hours a night at the same age, this group was 20% more likely to be obese by the time they were 21. Researchers say that this shows how important good sleep is for teenagers, and that they should get about 9 hours every night to stay healthy.
Breakfast Might Not Be The Most Important Meal After All
You may have heard the popular saying that breakfast is the most important meal of the day, but new research shows that this might not be true. A small group of 38 people from Brazil were tested for 6 weeks; some ate breakfast every morning and others did not eat until after midday. During the test, their energy and eating habits throughout the day were mostly the same over the two groups. Other tests, like cholesterol levels and body fat, also showed that there wasn’t much difference between the groups. Because this study was small, however, more research is needed to be sure.
Meal And Exercise Plans Prevent Heart Problems In People With Diabetes
Just having type 2 diabetes increases the chances that you’ll have other health problems too, such as heart disease. However, new research shows that diet and exercise can help lower the chances that a person with type 2 diabetes will get heart disease. Over the course of a year, people who had been recently diagnosed with diabetes were split into 3 groups. Some were given special meal and exercise plans, others just the meal plan, and the rest were given normal care. Both groups that got more than normal care were less likely to have problems connected to heart disease.