Make a lifestyle change today, or you may not have a lifestyle TO change. According to latest data released by the International Diabetes Federation (IDF), diabetes now affects 285 million people worldwide costs the world economy at least $376 billion in 2010, or 11.6% of total world health care expenditure.

Some interesting statistics:

- Every 10 seconds a person dies from diabetes-related causes.
- Every 10 seconds two people develop diabetes.
- Every 30 seconds a limb is lost to diabetes
- Each year a 7 million people develop diabetes
- Each year 4 million deaths are attributable to diabetes
- Diabetes is the fourth leading cause of global death by disease.

Author, Motivational Speaker and Director of Real Body Enterprises, Sonja Falvo, says that “People at high risk for developing Type 2 diabetes can reduce their chances of getting the disease by 58 percent if they lose as few as 5kg, exercise regularly and follow a healthy diet”.

Falvo’s statement is supported by a report published in the New England Journal of Medicine (May 3, 2001) that underscores the significant benefits of lifestyle changes in fighting the disease. The researchers on the study said lifestyle changes have long been known to be beneficial but they deemed the magnitude of the benefits found in the study -even in the case of relatively small changes – remarkable.

“The changes that were required to prevent diabetes were not drastic -they were just modest,” said Jaakko Tuomi- lehto, author of the study and professor at the National Public Health Institute in Finland.

Falvo says that “whilst making a change to both diet and exercise, eating the right amount of calories for ones lifestyle factors and eating a healthier diet would ultimately result in the best effect, even changing a single factor will still help to reduce the risks; the harsh reality is that we do have a major control over type 2 diabetes by our own actions.

Ultimately, doing things such as following a healthy diet, finding time to relax in order to reduce stress, following a sensible exercise program and overcoming any emotional triggers that may be resulting in comfort eating are all important in terms of reducing your risks of getting type 2 diabetes.

Media contact: For more information, contact Sonja Falvo at Real Body Enterprises by phone (07) 3392 0770 / 0424 506 902 or via email at sonjafalvo@realbodyenterprises.com.