What is Diabesity, anyway?

© Jacquelyn Johnston, M.Ed.

You might be wondering about the term Diabesity. When I first read it I thought. How clever. It encapsulates two terms: diabetes and obesity. Good combo, I thought.

You probably know someone with diabetes. I bet you know someone obese too. Chances are the obese person is on the way to diabetes. In fact, there’s quite a chance.

Diabetes didn’t use to be a huge problem, but it has been steadily growing, and exploded in the last 20 years or so. In the early ‘90’s it was getting there. By the end of the ‘90’s one person in 10 had it, and by 2010 ten per cent of the North American population will have it. Not funny.

In the past we all had a middle-aged parent, uncle or aunt with it. Today we see it in the kids in school. You probably know a kid who has it. That kid is probably overweight, and I’ll try not to say the “O” word.

Have you seen the diabetes management meters on TV? They advertise products where you can prick your finger several times a day with virtually no pain. Virtually. But remember the virtually pain-free have to begin pricking again tomorrow. And the next day. How would you like to live like that? You go to the movies: they have a soft drink, you think about it—then you leave the movie theatre and you have to puncture our skin again if you had that fizzy drink too. Or simply because it’s 2 hours after eating.

Now let’s just say you’re overweight. You run past a mirror, avoiding it. You eat stuff you shouldn’t because it’s there, because it provided a certain level of comfort—if it was sweet it probably did stimulate those feel-good chemicals inside you. You felt better, you ate more. Know what happens to your blood vessels when that occurs? They get inflamed. Oh, I don’t mean they fill out like a balloon—they just sort of get gradually thicker. Then one day you end up on a stretcher, in hospital, and you say “I don’t know what happened! All I did was have a steak”. It wasn’t the steak. It was all the bits of sugar you had, thinking “It’s just a cookie. It won’t kill me”.

You have friends who exercise regularly. They’re the nerdy gym types, of course. Notice how they’re not on a stretcher? Notice how they’re not having those cookies, that pop, that oh-so-healthy (but full of fats and needless refined sugars) granola. Notice how they don’t eat half a pizza before going to bed?

Ah-ha! Now put the 3 together: diabetes, weight and no exercise, and you have Diabesity. Watch this space for a breakdown of each of the 3.

I’m a Health Coach specializing in diabetes. One of my specialties is diabesity. I’m always on the lookout for the latest scientific developments on diabesity. Call me for a free half-hour’s consultation on the topic, and we’ll see if Health Coaching is a fit for you.

Questions? You’re welcome to add your comments.

To your health!

Jacquelyn