Diabetes and obesity: How you can survive and thrive

Diabetes and obesity: These diseases now affect tens of millions of people worldwide. Their global prevalence has been on the rise since the ‘80s and shows little sign of slowing down. Sadly, far from just impacting the lives of adults and the elderly, diabetes and obesity have spread to the youth as well.

As of 2017, over 12 million children and teenagers in the United States alone are considered obese. Every year, more than 3,500 children and teenagers are diagnosed with Type 2 diabetes — and that’s just in the United States. Obesity and diabetes rates among adolescents have been on the rise in the United Kingdom as well, with there being 33.2 cases of Type 2 diabetes identified in every 100,000 children annually.

What awaits these children is a reality that adults who suffer from the condition grapple with every day — The increased risk of heart disease and stroke, kidney disease, and high blood pressure, the elevated chances of amputation, blindness, and dental disease. Still, nothing could prepare them from the knowledge that premature death can occur at any given moment.

That’s not even going into the cost of living with diabetes. The prices for medication, custom-made medical supplies, and physician office visits are nothing short of astronomical, to say the least. In fact, the average diabetes patient can spend twice as much as a regular patient. The annual medical expenditures of a diabetes patient can come to about $13,700 on average; roughly $7,900 is attributed to the disease itself.

As a morbidly obese Type 2 diabetic, Jon McMahon knows all about the turmoil brought on by diabetes and obesity. He’s been fortunate enough to survive one diabetes heart attack but knows that the next could very well be his last. Amid his struggles, Jon came to learn about people who’d not only beaten their diabetes but were living life to the fullest too — People who overcame their problems and bettered themselves in the process. Jon couldn’t believe what he was hearing but understood that if some people could beat diabetes, then the rest of the world had to know how as well.

That’s why he created “iThrive! Rising From the Depths of Diabetes & Obesity.” This one-man camera crew, nine-part docu-series is Jon’s attempt to learn everything he can about diabetes and obesity. From the harsh realities of these diseases to the scientific discoveries and radical treatments dedicated to remedying them, all that and more can be seen in iThrive!

Jon speaks to scientists, doctors, researchers, and survivors; those who’ve committed themselves to combating these epidemics and those whose journeys in reversing their diabetes ended with success. Best of all, they were able to do it without disease-causing medicines, and so can you.

If you or someone you know are among the millions whose lives have been unfairly burdened by diabetes and obesity, then iThrive! is for you. Watch and listen to dozens of experts without spending a dime: iThrive! costs nothing to watch. All you need to do is register to experience a truly life-changing event.

Sources include:

Reuters.com

AMBS.org

Diabetes.org