Health Suggestion To Keep Americans Well

(Pictured: Jane Jeffrie Seley)

A few weeks ago, one of our supporters from Oregon recommended we start modeling what the Office of the National Nurse would do to help keep Americans healthy. Nurses have begun to send us their health tips, and here is one from a nurse from New York, Jane Jeffrie Seley. Jane recently was interviewed by the New York Times for their four part series on type 2 diabetes. Jane's tip demonstrates the type of expertise that the Office of the National Nurse will capture and disseminate to the country. Thank you Jane.

The Diabetes Prevention Program showed us that people who are at high risk for developing diabetes can lower their risk by 58% with diet and exercise. 1 Many of us want to eat less and exercise more, but find it difficult to get started. A simple, effective and inexpensive plan is to wear a pedometer. The pedometer should be worn for several days with usual activity to establish a baseline of the number of steps taken per day. One can then slowly increase the number of steps with the goal of working up to 8,000 to 10,000 steps per day.

1. Knowler WC, et al, for the Diabetes Prevention Program Research Group. Reduction in the incidence of type 2 diabetes with lifestyle intervention or metformin. N Engl J Med. 2002;346:393-403

Jane Jeffrie Seley, GNP, MPH, MSN, CDE
Dianetes Nurse Practitioner
NewYork Presbyterian/Weill Cornell
New York, NY

If you have education you would like to share, please send a concise version (two or three sentences) with your reference, name, title, and state to teri@nationalnurse.info.