The Pandemic Accelerated the Obesity & Diabetes Crisis: What's Next?

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Inactivity and poor diet are fueling the diabetes crisis, causing people to develop the condition at younger ages. Diets following the modern food environment are at the root of the problem.

Obesity and Type 2 Diabetes are manageable and often a reversible, provided you make positive lifestyle changes and get proper care and advice. The following article is based on an investigative report by Reuters titled 'How the pandemic laid bare America’s diabetes crisis'.

Medical System Failing People With Diabetes

Even prior to the pandemic, diabetes was on an alarming trajectory that saw hospitalization for hyperglycemic crises increase by 73% from 2009 to 2015. Diabetes deaths rose by 55% during that time.

“The focus in U.S. health care on treating crises over preventing them doesn’t help, downplaying the importance of lifestyle changes that could lessen the severity of the disease,” a Reuters investigation reported. “‘Over and over again, the problem is worse in young adults, and there isn’t improvement in older adults,’ Ed Gregg, a former CDC Researcher, told Reuters.

Fearful of COVID, People Died of Diabetes Instead, Reuters reported

The Reuters investigation follows the case of a 42-year-old woman whose death from complications of Type 2 diabetes during the pandemic was the result of isolation and fear. Locked down in her home, fearful of COVID-19, she ordered fast food and lost the motivation to eat better and exercise, and had difficulty getting adequate medical care.

In another case, a 68-year-old man with Type 2 diabetes had his leg amputated after avoiding medical care for a chronic sore out of fear of COVID-19.

These stories aren’t unique. Sandra Arevalo, director of community and patient education at Montefiore Hospital in Nyack, New York, told Reuters that diabetes deaths, amputations and intensive care admissions had plagued several patients she knew of after they delayed medical care during the pandemic. “The diagnosis was uncontrolled diabetes, but it was caused by COVID fear. COVID caused more damage than we realized,” Arevalo said.

Giuseppina Imperatore, with the CDC’s Division of Diabetes Translation, also told Reuters that “the impact of the COVID pandemic on people with diabetes cannot be overstated.”

Diabetes Cases Tripled Among Youth in 2020

“Young people are also suffering. Among 8 to 20-year-olds, Type 2 diabetes diagnoses tripled in 2020 at Children’s National Hospital in Washington, D.C., and they’re showing up sicker than they did in the past, with 23% affected by diabetic ketoacidosis, compared to 4% in 2019. School closures and reduced physical activity triggered by the pandemic were likely factors in the sudden rise”. Dr. Brynn Marks, a pediatric endocrinologist at Children’s National, told Reuters.

Weight gain has been another consequence, with significant increases in the rate of body mass index (BMI) change noted during the pandemic among 2- to 19-year-olds, according to the CDC.

The Pandemic Made Obesity Worse

We are facing an obesity crisis, which goes hand in hand with the diabetes crisis. The latest figures from the CDC state that 42.4% of Americans were obese in 2017 to 2018, an increase from 30.5% in 1999 to 2000.

The pandemic has made these numbers even worse, as 42% of U.S. adults who responded to the American Psychological Association’s 2021 Stress in America poll said they had gained more weight than they intended since the pandemic started. The average weight gain among this group was 29 pounds, with 10% stating they gained more than 50 pounds during the pandemic.

The CDC also announced September 15, 2021, that the number of states with high obesity prevalence, defined as at least 35% of residents with obesity, has nearly doubled since 2018.

There are now 16 states where at least 35% of the residents are obese, up from nine states in 2018 and 12 in 2019. “These and other emerging data show that the COVID-19 pandemic changed eating habits, worsened levels of food insecurity, created obstacles to physical activity, and heightened stress, all exacerbating the decades long pattern of obesity in America,” Trust for America’s Health reported.

In addition to understanding the modern food environment that include fast foods and almost everything that comes in a box or bag made in a food manufacturing plant there is still hope to protect your health.

The Science-Based Lifestyle Solution

The Feel Great System is the most effective tool that assists to bring your blood sugars back into a healthy range. The system is designed to make a healthy lifestyle not only doable but also enjoyable, without having to starve yourself or rely on willpower as you can still enjoy your favorite foods in moderation.

Unicity Balance is a patented blend of soluble and insoluble fibers, phytosterols with vitamins and minerals. Unicity Balance reduces your appetite, absorbs and removes fat, promotes fat-burning ability, and decreases leptin resistance.

This matrix of fiber in Unicity Balance is specifically designed to absorb much more blood sugar and supports healthy cholesterol more effectively than OTC fiber products like Metamucil or Benefiber, which is are just a single source of fiber that act more like a laxative.

The second product, Unicity Unimate, comes from the plant called Yerba Mate. This helps in giving us a rest from constantly eating by suppressing hunger and helping the body utilize its fat for fuel. The challenge most face when intermittent fasting, is that it's hard to maintain long-term.

Follow the 4-4-12 Method

The 4-4-12 method is a Core Fundamental of the Feel Great System. The basic concept is waiting 4-6 hours between breakfast and lunch, 4-6 hours between lunch and dinner, and 12 hours between dinner and breakfast the next day. By spacing your meals and saying no to snacking, you'll put your body in the best position to manage health glucose levels and burn as much body fat as possible.

We recommend starting your day with the Unimate yerba mate drink as your breakfast. This will keep your blood sugars in check in the morning, insulin down and allow the body's metabolism to fire correctly and good things begin to happen.

For enhanced results, you could substitute your first meal of the day, most often lunch, with a a protein shake. For more information on protein shakes, visit How to Choose the Best Protein Powder for You

Research shows that time redistricted eating like 4-4-12 method promotes insulin sensitivity and improves blood sugar management by increasing insulin-mediated glucose uptake rates, which is important for resolving Type 2 diabetes. In another study, when 15 men at risk of Type 2 diabetes restricted their eating to even a 9-hour window, they lowered their fasting glucose.

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