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Obesity...Or Is That Diabesity???
The term diabesity comes from the fact that there is quite a significant relationship between being obese (overweight) and Type II diabetes. Of the 90% of Type II Diabetes sufferers, 60% are obese. Of the youth with Type II diabetes, an astonishing 97% are obese. In Canada, 50% of the population is obese. Unfortunately these Canadians contribute to 1.8 billion dollars of health expenditure per year. In addition to diabetes, these people suffer from heart disease, arthritis and asthma.
The problem stems from the fact that even though we have lowered our fat intake, nearly ˝ of our caloric input daily comes from carbohydrates. Excess carbohydrates which are not burned by the body are converted into fat and stored. Inactivity of these people causes glucose levels to increase which in turn causes the pancreas to release insulin to lower the glucose levels. Constant elevated glucose levels can result in insulin resistance, which is a "hallmark feature of Diabetes.
You can control glucose levels by following a low carbohydrate/high protein diet, exercising for 20 minutes at least 3/week, and losing weight.
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