The Glucose Club's Blog

There have been two studies in recent times that are showing links to breast feeding and type 2 diabetes.  The first from ANU released in March 2010 found that mothers who breastfeed up to 3 months reduce their risk of developing type 2 diabetes to that of a woman who never had children. This study included accounting for woman's age, family history of type-2 diabetes, body mass index, smoking, and alcohol consumption. The second study, also by ANU showed that children who are breastfed for the first three months have a reduced risk of up to 50% in the development of type 2 diabetes.  This is fantastic news for mums who have been wondering if all the effort to establish and maintain breastfeeding has been worthwhile in the long run.  This is also great for those with a history of diabetes in the family, in trying to help prevent the development of type 2 diabetes.

While there are many benefits to breastfeeding both for mother and child, for some there are more cons than pros.  It’s worth remembering that there are many factors that influence a woman’s decision to breastfeed and when to wean.  Factors that may influence this decision include returning to work, finances, energy levels or personal health issues such as breast cancer, not to mention those babies needs that outstrip their mother’s milk production! These studies should not put undue stress on women who can’t breastfeed or have chosen to wean earlier than 3 or 6 months.  It should simply be one of the pros to help a woman continue if she is having trouble or be celebrated by those who enjoy breastfeeding.

With more than 70% of people over 15 years of age in Australia being sedentary or having low exercise levels according to the ABS National Health Survey for 2007-2008.  Being time poor is one of the most common reasons cited by people as to why they aren’t being active - they find it hard to fit in, they have kids, they run their own business, they have a stressful and demanding job.  However if you read Sunday Life magazine this weekend you will have seen the article on how busy people fit in exercise.  There’s a pilot and mother of four who’s also a dermatologist, Guy Grossi who you may have seen on Masterchef and an executive lawyer.  

What is common about them is that they all have challenges. They complete long days (up to 15-16 hours), have interrupted or poor sleep times, have high stress jobs and none of them were highly sporty as children or young adults. However they all discovered how valuable physical activity was to their health, to their well being, to their performance at work. There are many benefits in simply participating – you don’t have to be a “sporty type of person”.

In the article, they listed all the different ways they found to make exercise work for them and fit into their lifestyle.  They learnt about what makes them tick and use that as the driver.  Rex Wells (the pilot) tells himself that he only has to do 20 minutes but finds once he has started he is happy to go for longer – he just has to get there.  Josephine Yeatman (the dermatologist) sets goals for herself, attends courses and involves her family, she puts in her diary and ensures it is scheduled.  Guy Grossi talked about the time of day he exercises and he makes sure that on the weekends, which are his busiest days that he attends the gym.

What each of these high performers has done is worked out what drives them, how their mind works and stay within that. They have found what they can do to beat their Sugar Daddy and that is the key to their success.  There is no one program that will work for all of us all of the time.  But if you have control of your Sugar Daddy and know him or her well enough, you can manage all of the challenges life throws at you.

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!