Can Type 2 diabetes be prevented? In a word, maybe; but at the very least, it can be delayed. Those most often diagnosed with Type 2 diabetes are over 40 years old, overweight, and live a sedentary lifestyle. In short, they are couch potatoes — they don’t HAVE to be couch potatoes. Unless they are paralyzed, they DO have the option of getting up and moving their bones — on purpose. Jogging to and from the fridge doesn’t count.

Some of us are predisposed to developing Type 2 diabetes. Those of us who have a family history of Type 1 OR Type 2 diabetes are more likely to develop the disease in our later years. But that doesn’t mean that we can’t work to eliminate risk factors OTHER than heredity.

Nobody can do anything about growing older, but there are things that we can do about being overweight and not exercising. There are dietary changes and lifestyle changes that we can make that will not only reduce our own risk of developing Type 2 diabetes, but also reduce the risk for our children.

You can make changes that will last a lifetime. I’m not going to tell you that is necessarily easy to make those changes, but it isn’t all that hard either if you really want to lower your own risk for developing Type 2 diabetes and the risk for your children.

Eat less! Count calories, and go on a low-carb diet. Buy fruit as snacks rather than candy bars.

Exercise! If nothing else, WALK. Walking is a good exercise that the entire family can enjoy together.

Limit television time as well as video game time. If you are sitting in an easy chair or lying on the couch watching the idiot box, you aren’t exercising your mind or your body.