Diabetes prevention 101: small and simple changes prevent type 2 diabetes by Linda Haas, PhC, RN, CDE, and Sandra Burke, PhD, RN, ANP, CDE

Sam Kitching, a 67-year-old Florida native, weighed 260 lbs. eight years ago. He was at high risk for developing type 2 diabetes, a disease that affects an estimated 285 million people worldwide, including almost 24 million people in the United States who live with this condition.

“A friend of mine, a retired doctor, had been telling me for years that I needed to lose some weight because I was setting myself up for health problems down the road,” Kitching says. “He told me, ‘Sam, I’ve got to be straight. Either you lose a little weight, or you are on your way to a heart attack or diabetes.’”