Diabetes Facts and Information

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Diabetes affects as many as 18 million Americans and is increasing in our population to the point where public health authorities are calling diabetes an "epidemic" that requires urgent attention. Of the 18 million people with diabetes, about 5 million are completely unaware that they have it. Currently, about 800,000 new cases are diagnosed each year, and that number continues to rise. By the year 2025, it is projected that 9 percent of the US population will be diabetic.

Nearly 9 out of 10 people with diabetes are overweight. By reducing your weight you can often decrease the effects of diabetes. However, losing weight can be difficult.

Obesity, family history, high blood pressure, age and body shape can put you at risk for Type II diabetes.

People with Type II Diabetes may have a particularly difficult time losing weight. (University of Maryland Medical Center)

Nearly 9 out of 10 people with newly diagnosed Type II diabetes are overweight. (American Diabetes Association)

Januvia is one of the more recent and promising pharmaceutical treatments available to treat diabetes and high blood sugar.

When people with Type II diabetes achieve even modest weight loss (as low as 2.5% of total weight) they reduce risk factors in the heart. Ideally, however, overweight patients should strive for 15% weight loss or better, which can have major positive effects on insulin sensitivity. (University of Maryland Medical Center).

Medifast has been around a long time, operating within the modified fasting programs segment of the weight loss industry and is now growing in the area of weight loss for people with diabetes. It ranks among the leaders such as HMR and Optifast, in terms of the number of physicians, clinics, and other healthcare sites, and number of people using this type of prescription weight loss program. Medifast is a leader in soy-based medical meal replacement products used by consumers and medical practitioners for over 20 years. With over 1 million patients and 15,000 doctors previously working with its products, this program has been pre-sold to much of the company's previous customer base.

It's important to realize that Medifast is no longer primarily a medically supervised weight loss program. Yes, it still does offer this option, but claims that only 10% of its current customers fall into this category. Consequently, one can access the Medifast programs via: 1) High Energy weight loss centers, 2) at home by phone or the website: http://www.medifastdiet.com (Take Shape for Life), 3) via hospitals and clinics, and 4) via a healthcare professional's office (physician, dietitian, etc.). Most customers now buy Medifast meal replacement products directly from the company, with no medical supervision required.

For those dieters living outside the United States, Medifast weight loss programs are available in Asia (India, Hong Kong, Singapore) via the Dr. Diet plan. The Canadian market has not as yet been tapped, since that nation has different regulatory issues than the U.S. regarding liquid diet fasting supplement products.

The Nutrition Institute of Maryland was founded in 1972. In 1976, the company is said to have instituted the first Protein Sparing Fasting Program in the Mid-Atlantic states, and in 1977 the Institute was among the pioneers to implement Defined Formula Supplemented Fasting programs in the private sector. Those programs were derived from research at Case Western Reserve and the Mt. Sinai Medical Center of Cleveland. It soon became known as the Medifast program.

During the past several years, Medifast has brought in new management and became a public company, giving it access to capital that allowed it to expand beyond doctor’s offices to the general public and to compete more strongly with Optifast and HMR. Consequently, it has began marketing directly to the public and doing a lot more advertising and marketing, to increase awareness of its name. So, it's not just a medical weight loss program anymore.

The company has also introduced 43 new products in the past two years, and now has about 70 items to choose from (including the supplements, nutrition bars, teas, soups, chili, hot cocoa, snacks, oatmeal and the meal replacement product shake)

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The information on this web site is intended for information purposes only and is not intended as a substitute for medical advice. Before starting any weight loss program, it is recommended that you consult your physician or other health care professional.