Have you ever heard a busy mom or an active retired woman say “I know I should get a check-up, but I just can’t find the time?” At all ages, women are usually the primary caregivers for their families, but all too often they don’t take time to take care of themselves. This can lead to serious problems, especially when a condition like diabetes is left undetected. Diabetes affects an estimated 9 million women in the U.S. and about 1 in 3 are unaware that they have the disease. Left untreated, diabetes can cause health complications such as blindness, amputations, kidney disease, and heart disease. The good news is that controlling blood sugar can decrease risk for these conditions, but women need to first be aware that they have the disease.
More women than men have diabetes because they live longer, and are more likely to be overweight. Diabetes risk increases with age, although type 2 diabetes is occurring in younger and younger people as obesity rates increase.
The Food and Drug Administration’s Office of Women’s Health has an educational campaign, called Take Time to Care About Diabetes, which teaches women about diabetes risk factors and warning signs, and encourages them to get tested for the disease. Free brochures are available at 1-888-8Pueblo, and more information about diabetes is available at the FDA Website About Diabetes. To do the best for ourselves and for our families, we all should take time to care about our health.
Listening, learning and living together, it’s the science of life. “Family Album” is a co-production of University of Florida IFAS Extension, the Department of Family, Youth and Community Sciences and of WUFT-FM. If you’d like to learn more, please visit our website at FamilyAlbumRadio.org.
Podcast: Women and Diabetes
Written by Linda Bobroff
Additional Resources
Nancy Gal and Linda Bobroff, "Living With Diabetes", EDIS, The Florida Cooperative Extension Service, Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences, University of Florida, Revised October 2006.
Florida Cooperative Extension Service, EDIS Documents on Diabetes
For more information, contact the National Diabetes Education Program (NDEP) at 1-800-438-5383 or visit
www.ndep.nih.gov
