Rise of Diabetes: Unhealthy Lifestyles & Dietary Causes - Essay Sample

Introduction

Diabetes one of the most common diet-related and preventable diseases that have been on the rise in recent times, affecting both the young and the old at alarmingly growing rates all around the globe. There are two types of diabetes, Type 1 and Type 2, arising through different mechanisms. The condition arises due to the disruption of insulin balance in the blood. It is mostly associated with dietary causes and unhealthy lifestyles. Some of the triggers for diabetes include cholesterol and other unhealthy fat. Excessive weight and lack of exercise also put one at risk of developing the condition. Though it is preventable, it can affect people of all ages. Thankfully, it is manageable with dietary control and physical fitness. The paper sought to create educational interventions by applying the theory of planned behavior in decreasing the rate of occurrences of the chronic disease.

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Beliefs

According to past research, an individual's attitude and knowledge play a significant role in determining their response to some form of a phenomenon. As such, attitudes towards diet could go a long way in reducing the incidences of diabetes among the American population. The diet of a diabetic person should comprise of healthy polyunsaturated fats from fruits like avocados and olives. Eating a lot of whole grains and vegetables also cut back sugary drinks while at the same time cutting back on refined food. Keeping weight in check and exercising regularly would also greatly reduce the risk of developing diabetes. The beliefs regarding these aspects are important in fighting off this chronic disease. However, other beliefs such as the friends one keeps around and the time that one eats is unimportant in driving the diabetes education intervention program.

Subjective Norms

The methods used for the study was a retrospective study data on glycemic control (HbA1C) done on patients under 21 years treated at the Dasman Diabetes Institute between January 2013- 2015 (American Diabetes Association, 2019). Results from the patient indicated that the young ones under 21 with type 1 diabetes faced significant challenges in attention to achieve glycemic control. The young adults were found to hold beliefs including that diabetes is not linked to unhealthy diets.

The research used a prevalence-based approach by combining the demographics of the diabetes population in the U.S with healthcare costs, epidemiological data, and economic data resulting from the treatment of diabetes. These areas were analyzed basing on certain areas of age sex and ethnicity. National surveys provided this valuable information on diabetes as well as medical databases. The research found out that diabetes resulted in substantial economic costs totaling $327 billion in 2017 (American Diabetes Association, 2019). This increase in the costs both direct and indirect is a result of the prevalence of diabetes.

Behavioral Analysis

Bad eating habits when eating out are undoubtedly the leading causes of the development of lifestyle-related complications in high school students and young adults, such as diabetes and other related diseases (Pop-Busui, 2017). Avoiding such practices and instead promoting healthy eating habits is the only way to check the increasing incidence of occurrence and development of non-communicable diseases among this generation. The youth would be capable of practicing healthy eating habits given alternative diets and also with adequate education on their health choices and their impacts.

Practicing a habit of eating healthy foods and at optimum levels would go a long way in reducing the occurrence of obesity and consequent complication among the groups most at risk. Eating a lot of whole grains and vegetables, also cutting back on sugary drinks while at the same time cutting back on refined food. Keeping weight in check and exercising regularly would also greatly reduce the risk of developing diabetes. The above strategies are greatly beneficial, in managing, controlling and preventing some of these highly preventable chronic diseases. Having both dietary changes and healthy living styles would go a long way in preventing these diseases and saving lives (Pop-Busui, 2017). Given the success that has been noted in the past on the use of these methods to control diabetes and other related health complications, it would also seem applicable to the American youth populations.

Summary

Several factors could be attributed to the trend of bad eating habits among young adults and adolescents especially when eating out. Among those are factors such as carelessness in food selection, binge eating and eating poor nutrition diets (Davies, 2018). The certain diets poor in nutrition contributes to the problem especially fatty foods and sugars that most of those in the age bracket are accustomed to and most fond of. Healthy foods include those low on fat and sugar content such as whole meal grains, cereals, and a lot of vegetables. Research also shows that consumption of fruits on a regular basis is helpful in preventing diseases as they provide necessary vitamins and nutrients that boost immunity and help fight off diseases even with such conditions as obesity and other associated diseases. Furthermore, adopting food diets rich in butter such as nuts a couple of times a week coupled with salads and wheat bread topped with unprocessed juices could go a long way in promoting health among the young generation and thus preventing diseases. Exercising regularly should also be encouraged among young adults and adolescents to improve health and improve general well-being (Davies, 2018).

References

American Diabetes Association. (2019). 14. Management of diabetes in pregnancy: standards of medical care in diabetes-2019. Diabetes Care, 42(Supplement 1), S165-S172. DOI: 10.2337/dc19-S014

Davies, M. J., D'Alessio, D. A., Fradkin, J., Kernan, W. N., Mathieu, C., Mingrone, G., & Buse, J. B. (2018). Management of hyperglycemia in type 2 diabetes, 2018. A consensus report by the American Diabetes Association (ADA) and the European Association for the Study of Diabetes (EASD). Diabetologia, 61(12), 2461-2498. DOI: 10.2337/dci18-0033

Pop-Busui, R., Boulton, A. J., Feldman, E. L., Bril, V., Freeman, R., Malik, R. A., ... & Ziegler, D. (2017). Diabetic neuropathy: a position statement by the American Diabetes Association. Diabetes care, 40(1), 136-154. doi.10.2337/dc16-2042