Just 30 minutes of walking five days a week and a 10- to 15-pound weight loss can cut the rate of Type 2 diabetes by 58 percent, says a Hawaii resident with a leading role in national efforts to curb an epidemic of the disease. Type 2 diabetes expert
suggests half-hour walksModerate exercise and diet
Events raise diabetes awareness
show promise against an epidemicBy Helen Altonn
haltonn@starbulletin.com"That's a significant reduction," noted Dr. Wilfred Y. Fujimoto of Kona, "semi-retired" University of Washington medical professor and member of the National Diabetes Association's board of directors.
Fujimoto, who was raised in Hilo, headed the recruitment and retention committee for the Diabetes Prevention Program and remains involved as co-investigator at the University of Washington.
The three-year national clinical trial was halted one year early last April because of dramatic results showing moderate diet and exercise can delay and possibly prevent Type 2 diabetes for millions of overweight Americans at risk for the disease.
The trial also found that the oral diabetes drug metformin (Glucophage) reduced Type 2 diabetes risk, although it is not as effective as a lifestyle change.
Researchers announced results of the study last August and they were reported in the Feb. 7 issue of the New England Journal of Medicine.
Fujimoto, a specialist on Asian-Americans and diabetes, has been doing research on diabetes for 30 years. He did early studies showing risk for the disease is up to two times greater for Japanese Americans than Caucasians.
Hawaiians also have a high rate of diabetes, he said in a telephone interview, adding, "Many of the minority populations at risk for Type 2 diabetes live in Hawaii."
Not only is there an epidemic of Type 2 diabetes in adults, he said, "but we're beginning to see it in children. Type 2 used to be very rare in children. If we saw a child with diabetes 20 years ago, invariably it was Type 1 diabetes.
"Now, one-fourth of children have Type 2, because of obesity in kids, lack of physical exercise and unhealthy diets."
Type 1 diabetes is an autoimmune disease, Fujimoto noted. "Probably nothing in the environment is going to change that very much." But for Type 2 diabetes, "Lifestyle change is one of the cheapest things people can do."
Fujimoto walks an hour nearly every day and hopes to participate in a Hawaii WALK for Diabetes at 7 a.m. May 11 at the Hilo Hawaiian Hotel.
About 16 million Americans have diabetes, the main cause of kidney failure, limb amputations and blindness in adults and a major cause of heart disease and stroke.
More than 80,000 Hawaii residents are estimated to have diabetes, although only about half of them have been diagnosed, according to the American Diabetes Association Hawaii.
Fujimoto said the 3,234 participants in the national study, including 74 Hawaii volunteers, will be followed for at least five years to learn how long interventions are effective and if they reduce cardiovascular disease and atherosclerosis.
He said he thought he would return to Hawaii to practice medicine after leaving Hilo for college, but his career goals shifted to academic, research and training areas.
He went to Baltimore College and medical school at Johns Hopkins, spent two years of internship and residency in New York and worked two years at the National Institutes of Health in Bethesda, Md. He then went to the University of Washington because it had one of the top research programs in diabetes, he said.
When he began looking into the disease, he said, "The options as far as treatment were not that many ... Now we have all these different classes of drugs that treat different steps that might be abnormal.
"The therapeutic regimen available to the physician and patient is incredibly diverse now and it's growing. It's possible to really delay the onset of complications of diabetes now."
The big question, Fujimoto said, is how to translate results of the diabetes study to the public. The Centers for Disease Control, National Institutes of Health and American Diabetes Association are working together to try to get messages out through the National Diabetes Education Program, he said.
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Various events are planned in the next few weeks to raise awareness of diabetes and to raise funds for Hawaii research and public education programs about the devastating disease. Upcoming events to raise
diabetes awarenessStar-Bulletin staff
An "Alert Day" is scheduled March 26 and the American Diabetes Association Hawaii will hold its third annual Chevron Hawaii WALK for Diabetes March 30 at Kapiolani Park.
Activities planned on "Alert Day" include:
>> A cooking exhibition of diabetes-friendly foods by chef Walter Kaneshiro of The Queen's Medical Center and ways to prepare nutritious meals, from 11 a.m. to noon, Longs Drug Store in Moiliili, 2220 South King St.
>> Free diabetes testing and counseling from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. at Tamarind Park downtown. Kaiser Permanente and HMSA diabetes educators and representatives from the American Diabetes Association, National Kidney Foundation of Hawaii and doctors and specialists in eye care and circulation will be present.
>> Longs pharmacists and diabetes educators will perform body fat testing and discuss the importance of weight management in diabetes prevention from 5 to 7 p.m. at Longs Drug Store at Pearlridge Mall.
The March 30 walk will begin at 8 a.m. for a short 1.8-mile route or 2.3 miles around Kapiolani Park.
The walk's honorary chairperson is Wili Moku, former KQMQ radio personality, who said he lost both legs because he was not aware of the symptoms of diabetes and did not listen to his doctors.
Walkers who collect more than $50 in donations will be eligible to receive gifts, T-shirts, Chevron gift certificates and other prizes.
Registration will begin at 7 a.m. the day of the walk. Registration forms also can be picked up at participating Chevron Dealers, Longs Drugs pharmacy, Star markets, Times Pharmacy and KTA Super Stores.
To register by phone or obtain more information, call 947-5979 or register at http://diabetes.org/walk.