The Glucose Club's Blog

An article in yesterdays Daily Telegraph (Monday 6th July 2009) entitled “Kids put at risk by fatty diet” brings to the fore some startling statistics about Australian Children (http://www.news.com.au/adelaidenow/story/0,,25737756-2682,00.html).

The research to be published in Diabetes Care states that one third of all 14 year olds and one in four eight year olds fall into high-risk category for heart disease, stroke and diabetes.  One of the authors for the report, Professor Stanley, advises that this is so because there has been a dramatic increase in the amount of cheap and high fatty foods with “slick” advertising.  She also states that more activity for the whole family is needed.  They also comment that the definition of obesity is too focused on Body Mass Index alone and that in this report they considered waist circumference, blood pressure and insulin resistance.


This highlights how important a healthy lifestyle and getting control of your Sugar Daddy is for the whole family and how our kid’s health is suffering in this fast paced society.  I for one look forward to reading the report in full!

Blood Pressure and Resting Heart rates effect Type 2 diabetes

Posted by Christine Armarego AEP Thursday 2 July 2009

A new study published in June 2009 in the International Journal of Epidemiology shows that having a higher resting heart rate and high blood pressure are both risk factors in whether or not you will develop type 2 diabetes. More interestingly they are independent of each other, so either one as well as both will influence this.  The study looked at over 16000 men and 8000 women in Japan from ages 39-50 years and showed not significant differences across genders.

And of course exercise and a healthy diet is the most effective way to keep your resting heart rate and BP down!

Reference: Nagaya T, Yoshida H, Takahashi H, Kawai M.Resting heart rate and blood pressure, independent of each other, proportionally raise the risk for type-2 diabetes mellitus Int J Epidemiol. 2009

Will free Lap-band surgery fix the obesity or diabetes epidemic?

Posted by Christine Armarego AEP

Yesterday the media headlines were “Free Fat Surgery”! It related to a story about a government report which makes recommendations to the Australian Government on how to tackle the obesity crisis that costs $58 billion last year.  

One of the recommendations is for gym memberships to be subsidized.  Now this is certainly a step in the right direction especially with the GFC forcing people to make decisions based on money in the short term rather than the cost to their health in the long term.  However for many of the clients we see in “The Glucose Club” they get greater benefit from more individualized sessions rather than simply purchasing a gym membership, as this doesn’t guarantee attendance or weight loss.  Having caring, supportive and educated Allied Health professionals available who understand behavior change and are experienced in designing individualized programs, specifically if the person has injuries or a chronic health condition will make weight loss more likely.  Also not every one is interested in going to a gym – what about out-door training or a pool membership?  The government could also consider increasing the number of Enhanced Primary Care plan sessions available from 5 to 10 per year, allowing for more personalized care of those at greatest risk of developing morbid obesity.

They also recommend that Bariatric or Lap-banding surgery be subsidized by the government.  While this type of surgery is beneficial to those who are morbidly obese and who cannot exercise, there still needs to be education on nutrition and exercise and assistance in how to change these lifestyle habits to prevent the person falling into old habits. Surgery is only half the battle and it’s surgery plus support through lifestyle changes that is successful.  And bear in mind surgery has it’s own risks, including unsuccessful or procedures that need to be repeated.

I think the main problem is that the report is looking at ways to reduce weight – but have forgotten that the science shows that being fit is more important than being thin – and that is where their focus should be!  Being fit improves your glucose and insulin interaction and prevents metabolic health problems such as diabetes. Feel free to leave your comments below!

Exercise in Men as beneficial as quitting smoking!
Posted by Christine Armarego

A Swedish study published in the British Medical Journal has found that men who take up regular physical activity after 50 years of age, have the same life expectancy after ten years as those who have always exercised!  In fact it was shown to just as beneficial as quitting smoking. In Western Society only 50% of middle age men are regularly active. So if you want to keep your man around get him moving!

Message: It's never to late to start to get the benefits of regular physical activity!

Posted by Christine Armarego
Taken from:http://www.nytimes.com/2009/02/11/health/11smoking.html?_r=1&ref=health

Health Scares Reduce Smoking but Not Waistlines, Survey Finds
By RONI CARYN RABIN
Published: February 10, 2009

Smokers are three times more likely to quit if they get a wake-up call in the form of a heart attack, stroke, lung disease or cancer diagnosis, a new study has found.

But obese and overweight people lose two to three pounds at most after being diagnosed with a serious illness like heart disease or diabetes, according to the same report. The study, which looked at weight loss only in people under age 75, was published on Monday in The Archives of Internal Medicine.

It’s not entirely clear why heart disease would motivate patients to quit smoking but not to slim down, but the author of the paper noted that many health plans don’t cover weight-loss programs, with the exception of bariatric surgery, while many businesses and local health departments offer free or low-cost smoking cessation programs.

“People really are open to changing their behaviors after a health event, and this could really be a window of opportunity,” said study author Patricia S. Keenan, assistant professor of health policy at Yale School of Medicine. “I’m not sure the health care system is capitalizing on it, in terms of giving people the support they need to make these changes as they go forward.”

To do the study, Dr. Keenan analyzed data from the Health and Retirement Study, a survey containing detailed health information about middle-aged and older adults collected every other year between 1992 and 2000. The data included information about 20,221 overweight or obese people under age 75 and about 7,764 smokers.

While only about one in 10 smokers who hadn’t been diagnosed with a serious illness quit cigarettes, almost one-third of smokers who had had a stroke or were diagnosed with cancer, heart disease or lung disease quit, the study found.

When smokers were diagnosed with two serious diseases, they were six times more likely to quit than other smokers, the study found.

Obese people lost very little weight after most diagnoses, though they lost up to half a point from their body mass index after finding out they had diabetes, the study found.

“One of the reasons they may not have found a big weight loss is because physician counseling alone is not going to impact weight loss,” said Sherry Pagoto, an assistant professor at the University of Massachusetts Medical School who co-wrote an editorial accompanying the paper. “The evidence for behavioral weight loss treatment suggests an intensive program is necessary.”

She added, “If there is a window of opportunity for weight loss, we’re missing it.”

Posted by Christine Armarego
Taken from http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/02/090212161819.htm

Fructose-sweetened Drinks Increase Nonfasting Triglycerides In Obese Adults

ScienceDaily (Feb. 12, 2009) — Obese people who drink fructose-sweetened beverages with their meals have an increased rise of triglycerides following the meal, according to new research from the Monell Center.
"Increased triglycerides after a meal are known predictors of cardiovascular disease," says Monell Member and study lead author Karen L. Teff, PhD, a metabolic physiologist. "Our findings show that fructose-sweetened beverages raise triglyceride levels in obese people, who already are at risk for metabolic disorders such as cardiovascular disease and diabetes."

Triglycerides are manufactured by the body from dietary fat and are the most common form of fat transported in blood. Although normal levels of triglycerides are essential for good health, high levels are associated with increased risk for atherosclerosis and other predictors of cardiovascular disease.

In the study, published online by the Journal of Clinical Endocrinology and Metabolism, Teff and her collaborators studied 17 obese men and women. Each was admitted two times to the Clinical and Translational Research Center at the University of Pennsylvania. On each admission, the subjects were given identical meals and blood was collected from an intravenous catheter over a 24-hour period. The only difference was the sweetener used in the beverages that accompanied the meals; beverages were sweetened with glucose during one admission and with fructose during the other.

Blood triglyceride levels were higher when subjects drank fructose-sweetened beverages with their meals compared to when they drank glucose-sweetened beverages. The total amount of triglycerides over a 24-hour period was almost 200 percent higher when the subjects drank fructose-sweetened beverages.

Although fructose increased triglyceride levels in all of the subjects, this effect was especially pronounced in insulin-resistant subjects, who already had increased triglyceride levels. Insulin resistance is a pre-diabetic condition often associated with obesity.

"Fructose can cause even greater elevations of triglyceride levels in obese insulin-resistant individuals, worsening their metabolic profiles and further increasing their risk for diabetes and heart disease," said Teff.

Fructose and glucose are forms of sugar found in both table sugar (sucrose) and high fructose corn syrup. Both fructose and glucose are present in lower concentrations in many fruits and vegetables. Although fructose tastes much sweeter than either glucose or sucrose, it typically is not used alone as a sweetener.

Future work will seek to determine how much fructose is needed to cause an increase of triglyceride levels when it is combined with glucose in beverages. Additional studies will explore the metabolic and health effects of long-term fructose intake.

In addition to her appointment at Monell, Teff serves as Associate Director for Translational Research at the Institute for Diabetes, Obesity & Metabolism, University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine.

Also contributing to the study were Peter Havel from the University of California, Davis and his colleagues Kimber Stanhope, Nancy Keim, and Bethany Cummings; Sean Adams, Ryan Grant, and Tamara Dunn from the USDA Western Human Nutrition Center; Joanne Grudziak from Monell; and Raymond R. Townsend from the University of Pennsylvania.

Beat Depression and Diabetes at the same time!
by Christine Armarego

One of the little known facts about Diabetes is that it often goes hand in hand with Depression.  In fact in Australia, 1 in 5 people suffer with depression (ABS, 1997)  and people with diabetes have twice the change of developing depression as people without diabetes ( Anderson et al 2001 and Egede et al 2003).  However the pendulum swings both ways.  People with depression can develop type 2 diabetes due to poor lifestyle choices – eating less healthy and being sedentary.  Also dealing with diabetes day in and day out can be wearing with medications and regular check ups.

So if you have diabetes and notice that you seem to have lost your zest for living you are not alone.  Of course it is important to speak to your GP or Endocrinologist if you are feeling this way as both diabetes and depression are treatable.
Furthermore, there are studies showing that both depression and diabetes are positively effected and even managed with exercise!  Is there anything exercise cannot do?

Exercise improves your blood glucose management and your energy levels with even as little as 10 minutes per day (Babraji, 2009). It can also improve your quality of life, not to mention your blood pressure, cholesterol levels, strength and cardiovascular fitness.  

Many studies have shown the positive influence of exercise such as walking, cycling or aerobic exercise on mood, but a recent study completed here in Australia at Balmain hospital have shown that resistance training has the same or greater effect on depression as counseling or medication. 
Message:  It doesn’t matter what type of exercise you choose it will have benefits for both your mood and your Diabetes!

Need help to get started – give us  a call at The Glucose Club.

Anderson, RJ et al (2001) The prevalence of co-morbid depression in adults with diabetes – a meta analysis. Diabetes Care 2001 24: 1069 – 1078
Australian Bureau of Statistics. The National Survey of Mental Health and Well being in Adults, 1997.
Egede LE, Independent factors associated with major depressive disorder in a national sample of individuals with diabetes. Diabetes Care 2003; 26: 104- 111
John A Babraj et al. (2009) Extremely short duration high intensity training substantially improves insulin action in young sedentary males BMC Endocrine Disorders 2009