KTRE.com Lufkin and Nacogdoches |Obesity and Diabetes

Obesity and Diabetes

by Jessica Cervantez

Berta Curl has been battling diabetes since 1999, and she says she has definitely had to make adjustments in her life. 

Curl said, "I exercise, and I have learned how to cook by broiling.  I stay away from canned vegetables, and I eat fresh vegetables and five servings of fruit."

Now, she is trying to lose weight. She wants to get down to 150 lbs.  She has 90 lbs. to lose, but she says she has been noticing a difference.

"When you do those things, diabetes don't have control over you. You have control over the diabetes."

Unless Americans get their weight under control, experts predict the number of obese Americans with diabetes will skyrocket by a whopping 165% by the year 2050. Dr. Lance Sloan, a physician, deals with patients who are obese on a regular basis.

Dr. Sloan said, "The weight is driving a lot of the diabetic epidemic."

If patients could control their weight, they could notice a significant change in their diabetes, but the two often go together. 

Ever since her diagnosis, Berta has been studying the disease, and she wants you to know that by maintaining a healthy lifestyle, you too can enhance your quality of life.