Richard Browton is taking a stroll around Servus Credit Union Place. He's not the fastest one on the track — other athletes blast past him — but he's probably one of the few that's strolling for science.
Browton, 64, is one of about 50 Albertans taking part in a type 2 diabetes study based out of Servus Place. The study, the Healthy Eating and Active Living for Diabetes (HEALD) project, uses pedometers, walking and in-depth health education to help people manage diabetes.
Browton, a St. Albert resident diagnosed as pre-diabetic last May, says he now walks about eight hours a week as part of the study, and hopes the activity will help him avoid diabetes. "The most important thing is to just get up and do something," he says. "My blood pressure has gone down just from going walking."
Stepping up your health
Canada faces an "economic tsunami" of diabetes in the near future, according to the Canadian Diabetes Association, one that could cost Albertans $1.6 billion by 2020.
And most diabetes-related deaths come down to fitness, says Steve Johnson, assistant professor of health studies at Athabasca University and head of the HEALD project.
"People with type 2 diabetes are notoriously not physically active," he says. About 75 per cent of Albertans with the disease don't get the amount of exercise recommended under provincial guidelines, which contributes to death from cardiovascular disease.
This is a systemic issue, Johnson says. When most patients are diagnosed with type 2 diabetes, they don't get a lot of support.
"It's a very confusing and scary time for them," he says, but most patients get little more than a 15-minute talk on diet and exercise. "Fifteen minutes or an hour to change your lifestyle probably doesn't do it."
Johnson's research suggests that a program of monitored walking and in-depth health coaching can help diabetics get fit, lose weight and lower their blood pressure.
The HEALD study aims to test this program on about 300 type 2 diabetics starting in St. Albert. The 24-week program has been run out of Servus Place for about a year, and is now extending to the Fort Saskatchewan, Leduc and Camrose regions. Among other variables, the study aims to find out how much support patients need to change their habits and how much that support costs.
How HEALD works
The study pairs participants with a health and fitness expert and equips them with pedometers, Johnson explains. Participants learn to manage their diet and to gradually ramp up the amount of walking they do each week, while researchers track changes in their weight, blood glucose and fitness levels.
The study teaches participants to set realistic goals, Johnson says, and has them report their results regularly. "We don't tell them they have to walk 10,000 steps [a day]," he says, citing a typical fitness guideline. "They determine what's comfortable for them, and work towards meeting that on a daily basis." Participants track their steps with pedometers, which previous studies suggest motivate people to walk more.
Betty Saskiw, a type 2 diabetic from Edmonton in the study, says the pedometer gives her an extra bit of encouragement to keep walking throughout the week. "For whatever reason, this little tool makes you want to break your own record." She says she's at about 5,300 steps a day now, and is aiming for 6,000.
Participants have already seen many improvements to their health, says Jenna Shmyr, the HEALD program instructor with the St. Albert & Sturgeon Primary Care Network, including lower blood-glucose readings and blood pressure. One woman now walks for 45 minutes a day — far more than the five she did at the start of the study.
Johnson says the study could lead to a new provincial model for diabetes management. He planned to have it wrapped up by the end of next year.
Type 2 diabetics interested in the study should call Dianne Bray at 780-419-2214 ext. 6717.
