How Exercising and Losing Weight Can Help Prevent Diabetes

It is important for anyone who is overweight to lower their risk for certain health ailments by adopting an active lifestyle and controlling their food consumption in order to lose the extra weight; however, it is even more important for those currently living with diabetes or for those who have a high risk for developing the disease.

When you have diabetes and you are overweight, your risk for certain health ailments may double. You can lessen your chances of developing one of these potentially deadly health ailments by

1. Helping your body to effectively metabolize sugar
2. Limiting your sugar intake
3. Replacing your depleted essential nutrients
4. Losing weight

You can tell if you are dangerously overweight by calculating your BMI (Body Mass Index).

Your BMI is obtained by looking at three different factors:

- Age (child, teen, or adult)
- Height
- Weight

The easiest way to calculate your BMI is by using a BMI calculator (easily found online), which will also have a chart so that you can look to see what category your number falls in.

Those with a high BMI are at risk for different health ailments and need to work on lowering their number immediately. Health effects may include:

- Diabetes (if not already diagnosed)
- Heart disease
- Heart attack
- Stroke
- High cholesterol

Becoming active on a daily basis is a vital part of improving your immediate and long-term health. Being active will work together with a lowered calorie intake to help you lose weight and lower your BMI. It may also help you feel better about yourself and allow you to have a positive outlook on how your condition is progressing.

If you have a strong family history of diabetes, but have not yet developed the disease yourself, starting this plan early on may keep you from having to suffer from the condition at all.