Type 2 Diabetes Self-Management with

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What’s Inside this Packet:

What is Chronic Disease & Diabetes?.....................................................................................Page 3

Risk Factors & Social Determinants of Health.…………………..……………………………….Page 4

Preventing Type 2 Diabetes…………………………………………………………………………….Page 5

What is Healthy Monday?………………………………………….…………………………………...Page 6

The Healthy Monday Campaigns…………….........…………………………………………………Page 7

End Notes & Contact Information……………………………………….....….……..………………Page 8

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Chronic Disease1

Chronic disease is the leading cause of death and disability in the U.S.:

6 in 10 adults have a chronic disease 4 in 10 adults have two or more chronic diseases

This costs the US $3.3 trillion in annual health care costs.

Chronic disease is preventable and modifiable. Some lifestyle risks are: tobacco use, poor diet/nutrition, lack of physical activity, and excessive alcohol use.

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What is Diabetes?2

A (long-lasting) health condition that affects how your body turns food into energy. Type 2 diabetes is the seventh leading cause of death in the United States. Diabetes affects over 30 million Americans, and over 80 million Americans are pre-diabetic. An individual’s risk for diabetes increases with age.

Types of Diabetes3

General Risk Factors for Type 2 Diabetes4

1. Having prediabetes 2. Being overweight 3. Being at least 45 years old 4. Having a parent, brother, or sister with type 2 diabetes 5. Are physically active less than 3 times a week 6. Have ever had gestational diabetes or given birth to a baby who weighed at least 9 pounds 7. Are African American, Hispanic/Latino, American Indian, or Alaska Native

Type 1

Type one diabetes generally affects children

and adolescents. It is thought to be an

autoimmune reaction, meaning the body attacks

itself by mistake. Those with type 1 diabetes

cannot make their own insulin, so daily insulin

shots are needed to maintain general health.

Type 2

Type two diabetes is more common among adults. A

type 2 diabetic’s body doesn’t use insulin well and therefore cannot maintain normal blood sugar levels. Most people with diabetes

have type 2. Type 2 diabetes can be prevented

or delayed by healthy lifestyle changes.

Gestational Diabetes

Gestational Diabetes is developed in pregnant

women. This is a type of diabetes where pregnant

women have very high blood glucose during

pregnancy and can cause complications for both the

mother and child. Gestational diabetes can

severely affect the baby’s growth and development.

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Health is more than Your Behavior5

It’s important to note that multiple different factors play into the health of a person, factors beyond what a person eats, drinks, and how often they exercise. These are the social determinants of health, the structures in which people live, work, age, and play. The big five social determinants of health are: neighborhood and built environment, economic stability, education, social and community context, and health /health care.

Top 4 Social Determinant Factors Affecting Rates of Diabetes

1. Economic Stability

a. Factors: poverty, employment and food insecurity b. Economic stability represents an individual’s ability to access resources such as food and

health care. People from a lower socioeconomic background are at a general disadvantage and are likely to not be able to receive the proper care they need because they are unable to afford it. Unfortunately, class is a cause of whether or not an individual receives acceptable health care or live a healthier lifestyle. Living healthier can include paying for a gym membership or eating organic foods, both of which are costly.

2. Neighborhood and Environment

a. Factors: access to healthy foods b. Neighborhood environment affects the access people have to food. Impoverished

neighborhoods typically do not have access to whole foods, like fresh fruits, vegetables, and meat. As a result, these communities cannot eat foods that support a healthy lifestyle, which could lead to future health problems.

3. Health Care

a. Factors: access to health care, access to primary care and health literacy

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b. Health disparities refer to the higher burden of illnesses, injuries, disabilities, or mortality rates experienced by one group of people relative to another. Health care disparities refer to differences between groups in health insurance, coverage, access to and use of care and quality of care. Factors that affect health care disparities include race or ethnicity, income and education. People who are from higher socioeconomic backgrounds and who are well educated are likely to receive the most effective treatment. People who are from lower socioeconomic backgrounds often have to seek government assistance in order to afford health care.

c. Health literacy is the degree to which individuals have the ability to find and understand basic information and services needed to make appropriate health decisions. Populations most likely to experience low health literacy are older adults, racial and ethnic minorities, and people with low income levels or non-native English speakers. Improving health literacy can protect patients’ safety and prevent communication problems among health care providers, patients and families.

4. Education

a. Factors: language, literacy and enrollment in higher education b. Levels of education are linked to important health outcome such as self-rated health,

infant mortality and life expectancy. Some communities are less educated then others on healthcare topics. What is taught in some schools is not always taught in others, which adds to the misunderstanding of how to maintain a healthy lifestyle.

PREVENTION2

Type 2 diabetes is preventable because some risk factors, like diet, weight, and physical

activity, are controllable. Some prevention methods involve making simple adjustments to your lifestyle such as changing your diet and adopting a fitness routine. Some things one can do

include walking daily, eating more whole foods, and eating smaller portions, and not smoking.

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Introducing Healthy Monday6 Healthy Monday is a national initiative to stop the spread of chronic, preventable disease by offering a weekly prompt to help individuals and organizations start &

sustain healthy behaviors.

The Monday Effect

In western culture, Monday is the start of the traditional work and school week. Starting healthy behaviors at the beginning of the week has the potential to reduce

negative health events.

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People are more likely to start a healthy behavior on Monday compared to any other day of the week.

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And those who start a healthy behavior on Monday are more likely to continue that behavior throughout the week…

…which creates sustainable, healthy lifestyle changes.

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The Healthy Monday Campaigns6

Move it Monday encourages a healthy start to the week via physical activity and exercise for people of all abilities

(moveitmonday.org).

The Monday Mile is a one-mile route mapped out with directional signage to encourage physical activity at the

community level. Most of the Monday Mile routes are accessible (lernercenter.syr.edu)

Good for your health and the health of the planet. Meatless Monday promotes eating more plant-based foods on Monday and provides information, recipes and materials to help people

start their week eating meat free (meatlessmonday.com).

Quit & Stay Quit Monday uses Mondays as a tool to help quit smoking tobacco and to stay quit. Each week celebrates

progress made on one’s quit journey. Through tips, guides, and weekly newsletters, people are supported throughout their quit

journey (iquitmonday.org).

DeStress Monday views Monday as a day to start fresh mentally and emotionally. This program supports a positive perspective for

the week and offers tips and guides to reduce stress through evidence based tactics and tools (destressmonday.org).

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End Notes

1. CDC. (2019). About Chronic Diseases. Retrieved from https://www.cdc.gov/chronicdisease/about/index.htm

2. CDC (2019). About Diabetes. Retrieved from https://www.cdc.gov/diabetes/basics/diabetes.html.

3. CDC (2020). National Diabetes Statistics Report. Retrieved from https://www.cdc.gov/diabetes/data/statistics/statistics-report.html.

4. CDC (2019). Who’s at Risk? Retrieved from https://www.cdc.gov/diabetes/basics/risk-factors.html.

5. CDC. (2010). Social Determinants of Health. Retrieved from Healthy People.gov: https://www.healthypeople.gov/2020/topics-objectives/topic/social-determinants-of-health

6. For more information on the Healthy Monday Campaign and the Monday Effect, visit https://www.mondaycampaigns.org/.

Contact Information: Syracuse University Lerner Center for Public Health Promotion lernercenter.syr.edu lerner@syr.edu | 315-443-4526