Companies seeking to cut diabetes in Oklahoma
Companies seeking to cut diabetes in Oklahoma

Comments Comment on this article5

By Vallery Brown
Published: August 1, 2008
Modified: August 2, 2008 at 10:32 am

Diabetes cost Oklahomans nearly $2 billion in 2006, including $595 million in lost productivity, business leaders were told during a seminar Thursday on diabetes in the workplace.

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More than 100 company presidents, officers and human resource directors who gathered at the Oklahoma History Center heard about how the disease affects companies' bottom lines.

University of Oklahoma head football coach Bob Stoops, who gave the keynote address, said he strives for a healthy, active work environment where nutrition, exercise and health screenings are keys to team well-being and success.

"My job as a leader is to promote a healthy work environment,” Stoops said.

Stoops' speech focused on the importance of leading by example and demanding healthful behaviors such as daily exercise, eating in moderation and testing glucose, blood pressure and cholesterol levels.

About the program
The American Diabetes Association's "Winning at Work: Detecting, Preventing and Managing Diabetes for a Healthy Workplace” program can be used by companies to educate their employees about the prevention, detection and maintenance of diabetes. The program offers resources including company-wide wellness programs, educational brochures and diabetes risk tests.

The state Health Department estimates about 300,000 Oklahomans have diabetes, and many have not been diagnosed. In 2000, one in every two children born in Oklahoma was predicted to develop diabetes over the course of his or her lifetime.

According to the diabetes association, uncontrolled diabetes increases the risk for heart attack, stroke and kidney failure.

Timothy J. Lyons, director of the Harold Hamm Oklahoma Diabetes Center, said all Oklahomans over 30 should know their fasting blood glucose levels, blood pressure, and how to detect, prevent and manage diabetes.

Information about the workplace program can be found at www.diabetes.org.


 

Related Topics: Health and Fitness, Medicine, Medical Specializations, Business, Jobs and Labor, Diabetes, Metabolic Disorders, Worklife, Internal Medicine

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I know first hand what diabetes can do,my daughter was diagnosed with it at the age of five. I was told that more then likely she inherited it. Diabetes on both sides of our family,this was back in the early sixties,was told she would be luck to reach the age of 25,she was on a strict diet and took good care of her self,regular check ups and was very active in softball and other activities,but the older you get it starts takeing a toll on the vital organs,She was an amputee and on dialysis the last five years of her life.She was a very happy and careing person.I lost my daughter on March 24,2008 at the age of 46,cause of death was a stroke.No matter how well you take care of yourself you can always come down with some kind of illness.And the price that you have to pay for insulin is unreal,on your type ll some can be controlled with pills and diet,but some have to depend on the insulin.So Andrew don't tell me that if people cared about their health they would do it on their on.people need to read up on diabetes and be informed about what causes it.
bernice, rush springs - Aug 1, 2008 at 12:15 pm
I work in the field and see first hand, that if you do not eat right and exercise, you can easily fall victim to Type II diabetes and the drug companies like that.
bob, Oklahoma City - Aug 1, 2008 at 10:45 am
Report as inappropriate or
Ignore bob
exercise and dieting is important. if people cared about their health, they would do it on their own.
Andrew, Oklahoma City - Aug 1, 2008 at 10:39 am
This article is clearly geared toward individuals with Type 2 diabetes (adult onset). Please note that there are many Type 1 diabetics (formerly called "juvenile diabetes"). Type 1 is NOT preventable by diet or exercise, although those two things help with good control after diagnosis. Type 1 diabetics must take insulin by injections (or a pump) to survive because their bodies do not produce it. Type 2 diabetics may still produce insulin but their bodies do not absorb it properly. It has been proven over and over that a healthy lifestyle can help prevent onset of TYPE 2 Diabetes.
Crystal, Edmond - Aug 1, 2008 at 8:15 am
And the answer is to terminate the ill employee. Sure, bosses are sympathetic, but the bottom line is the dollar. Diabetics should not be given a free ride, but when hospitalized by the disease they should not be terminated for missing work. It is not the victim's choice.
Lawrence, Guthrie - Aug 1, 2008 at 6:29 am

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