How can I prevent my children from getting diabetes?

    
You have heard it before..."Like father like son".
  Is is possible to stop the cycle of diabetes from passing from generation to generation?   This is a questions many people who have diabetes have probably asked themselves at one time or another.
The answer is yes and no. We know there is a very strong genetic link with diabetes. More often than not we can name several relatives who either have diabetes or heart disease. They may have the same build too. That all to familiar "central obesity".
Here are the risks: 
<> If one parent has diabetes there is a 50-50 chance the children will have it too.
<>  It both parents have diabetes the risk is essentially 100%. This means all of their children will end up with diabetes it just depends on when.
Considering the risks, it seems like no matter what I do, I sill still get diabetes so why try right??  Wrong!! I have several patients with an interesting story you may want to hear.
  Two of these patients lost a significant amount of weight.  Both are diabetic. Both started exercising.  They were able to lose about 100 pounds!! (They were over weight and could afford to lose that much).
 They began with small changes.  Small changes over time gives big results. Both were able to stop all medications for diabetes, high blood pressure, high cholesterol. This amounted to hundreds of dollars in savings every month!!! I know what you are thinking "I'll never be able to do that".
 Let me put this in perspective. These are real patients just like you. They have busy lives, just like you. They have full time jobs just like you. They also have family responsibilities, just like you.
 Both patients started their journey in poor physical health, poor eating habits and over 55 years of age.
First, small changes were made. Consistent exercise and better eating habits over time yielded amazing results.  Both have normal blood sugar levels while taking NO diabetes medications.
Prevention falls in two categories. Weight loss/ or maintenance and exercise.
 One famous study showed if a person will exercise consistently and maintain a healthy weight, the risk of developing diabetes drops by 58%!  I am of course describing possible changes with type 2 diabetes. In the case of Type 1 diabetes, where a person is unable to make their own insulin, stopping insulin and other diabetes medications is not an option.
 
You are always fighting your genes. You cannot change who your parents are. You were born with certain genes. They are programmed to do specific things. It is an uphill continuous battle when  you are fighting your genes.   
Focus on the changes you CAN make. Healthy eating and exercise should be top of the list. Start slow with little steps. The pay off is big!