People who have learned from their doctor that they are prediabetic or people uneasy about whether their lifestyle and diet could lead to diabetes can learn the unvarnished truth for free.
Sheena Carswell, a nurse certified in diabetes management, and Marge Morris, a dietitian and certified diabetes educator, both at Mercy Regional Medical Center, will lead a two-hour class about diabetes management Dec. 5 at the hospital.
“We’re trying to prevent or delay the onset of Type 2 diabetes,” Morris said in a recent interview. “We’ll discuss how the disease manifests itself.”
A sedentary life, excess weight, age, high blood sugar, family history, lack of exercise, stress and heart disease – or a combination of several markers – are prime indicators of potential trouble ahead, Morris said.
“The idea is to get control of your life,” Morris said. “You have a choice of how you live.”
Morris and Carswell have given the free class once a month since August. Participants have had physician referrals, but the sessions are now open to the public.
People concerned about diabetes can act on their own, Morris said. A self-ordered laboratory test will reveal blood-sugar level or a checkup by a doctor can reveal danger points.
The easily calculable ratio of weight to height, called the body mass index (BMI), indicates if a person’s weight is normal of if the person is overweight or obese, Morris said.
BMI is arrived at by multiplying one’s weight in pounds by 703 and dividing by height in inches squared. An example: A 5-foot-10 man who weighs 170 has a BMI of 24.3, which is within the range of normal.
A BMI of 25 to 30 is overweight and more than 30 is obese.
“Our obesity-genetic lifestyle won’t change,” Morris said. “But we have the power to change it by the choices we make on a daily basis.”
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if you go
Sheena Carswell and Marge Morris will discuss diabetes management from 9 to 11 a.m. Dec. 5 in Suite 140 of the medical office building adjacent to Mercy Regional Medical Center in Grandview.
For more information, call 764-1790 or 385-9850.
