Prevent diabetes from managing you

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Prevent diabetes from managing you

Sat, 11/06/2021 - 13:38
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Lower your risk of diabetes and build a better future for your family and friends

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Ponca City – (November 4, 2021) – November is National Diabetes Awareness month. Shape Your Future, a program of the Tobacco Settlement Endowment Trust (TSET), is providing Oklahomans with tools and tips to combat diabetes, a leading cause of death in the United States.

In the past 20 years, the rate of Oklahomans living with diabetes has tripled. This chronic disease affects more than 330,000 people in the state every single day, and Oklahoma has the 5th highest diabetes death rate in the country.

“Making just one healthy change, like drinking one less sugary drink per day, is a great first step towards a life without diabetes,” said Jenny Creech, TSET Healthy Living Program Coordinator serving Kay County. “Swapping out high-calorie, fatty foods for fresh and healthy foods also goes a long way.”

Small changes like being more conscious of the food you eat is just one way to lower your risk. Being tobacco-free, getting the appropriate amount of sleep each night and increasing your daily physical activity are all effective steps to reduce the risk of diabetes in your life.

Type 2 diabetes is most commonly seen in adults and children who are inactive and overweight. This form of diabetes occurs when your body can no longer produce insulin properly to support you in the best way possible. Luckily, type 2 diabetes is preventable and manageable just by making healthy lifestyle changes. Getting active with your family each day is an important step towards living a healthier, diabetesfree lifestyle. Find tons of inspiration to help you move more – and make it fun – at ShapeYourFutureOK.com. You can also find quick and healthy meal plans, shopping lists, recipes and more free tools for better health on the website.

Shape Your Future is committed to helping Oklahomans make lifestyle changes for better health. By being aware of the causes of type 2 diabetes, you are empowered to participate in preventive activities to build a better future for yourself and your family.

Shape Your Future is a community health education intervention that encourages Oklahomans to eat better, move more and be tobacco free. SYF strives to educate parents, teachers, caregivers and all Oklahomans on how to make the healthy choice the easy choice. Find us online at ShapeYourFutureOK.com.

The TSET Healthy Living Program is a group of communitybased grants designed to reduce leading causes of death in Oklahoma by reducing tobacco use and obesity on a local level. The goal of the program is to work within the areas of state where the poorest health outcomes exist in order to improve access to healthy foods, increase opportunities for physical activity and support tobacco-free lifestyles.

The Oklahoma Tobacco Settlement Endowment Trust (TSET) serves as a partner and bridge builder for organizations shaping a healthier future for all Oklahomans. TSET provides leadership at the intersections of health by working with local coalitions and initiatives across the state, cultivating innovative and life-changing research, and working across public and private sectors to develop, support, implement and evaluate creative strategies to take advantage of emerging opportunities to improve the public’s health. To learn more, go to TSET.ok.gov.