Nearly two years ago, Bryan Moore had trouble eating and sleeping. An urgent care doctor took his blood sugar, then sent Bryan to the hospital. He was nearly in a diabetic coma with a blood sugar of 726. Normal levels are 80 to 120.
“My big brother came back from college. We went to Ruby Tuesday and I couldn?t stay up; I kept falling asleep in the car and I wasn?t tired,” Moore said. “I couldn?t eat my dinner and it was a cheeseburger. I love cheeseburgers.”
The junior Olympian and football player has since dropped 60 pounds, and now weighs 160 pounds, and still enjoys a cheeseburger from time to time. “I can still eat everything I used to eat. I just do it in moderation. I don?t do sugar.”
Diabetes is a disease characterized by high blood sugar levels, with obesity being the most significant cause, said Dr. Soren Snitker, endocrinologist with the University of Maryland School of Medicine. Losing 5 to 10 percent of your body weight can dramatically improve your quality of life, he said, noting some studies emphasize the importance of physical activity over losing weight.
This year, lawmakers attached his name to a bill calling for more gym time – 90 minutes a week per child – and physical activity – another 60 minutes, including recess – for all Maryland schoolchildren.
The bill ultimately downgraded the requirement to a study on the importance of exercise – all but killing the intent of the bill after it earned the consternation of the Maryland Association of Boards of Education.
MABE had said it ties local boards? hands in setting priorities, and would cost too much.
Diabetes is a chronic condition most people will live with for the rest of their lives, Snitker said. “There are some instances where people no longer meet the diagnostic criteria to be called diabetic. Generally that requires people to lose more or less all of their excess weight.”
