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Sacramento, CA - March 28, 2007–If you took the Diabetes Risk Test at http://www.diabetes.org/risk-test.jsp as part of Diabetes Alert Day yesterday, you might have learned that your age, activity level, family history or other factors put you at high risk of developing type 2 diabetes. What do you do now? While some risk factors like age, ethnicity or family history can’t be changed, you can improve your food and activity choices now to help delay or even prevent you from joining the ranks of the 20.8 million Americans¹ and 2 million Californians² living with diabetes. Dairy Council of California offers free, interactive online resources to help at-risk consumers make dietary and lifestyle changes that will help reduce their risk of developing type 2 diabetes and improve their health.

Key lifestyle components to reduce the risk of diabetes include a moderate-calorie, lower-fat diet that supports weight loss coupled with increased physical activity. Beyond that, recent research indicates that dairy products may offer additional diabetes risk-reduction benefits.³ A study in men with pre-diabetes, a precursor of type 2 diabetes, found that each added daily serving of low-fat dairy was associated with a 9 percent lower risk of developing type 2 diabetes, after controlling for other factors.⁴ A similar study concluded that a dietary pattern that incorporates higher low-fat dairy products may lower the risk of type 2 diabetes in middle-aged or older women.⁵

“These studies are very encouraging and suggest that many people with pre-diabetes can improve their health and reduce their risk of diabetes without taking prescription medications,” said Lori Hoolihan, Ph.D., R.D., nutrition research specialist at Dairy Council of California. “Simple dietary and activity changes can significantly benefit your health, especially if you are at risk of developing type 2 diabetes.”

If you’re someone who might benefit from changes in dietary choices and/or physical activity levels, Dairy Council of California has a number of free online resources to help. These interactive tools help you turn sound advice into action.

• The Personal Nutrition Planner offers personalized assessments of specific nutritional and physical activity needs based on USDA’s MyPyramid food guidance system, as well as specific tips and information for someone with or at risk of diabetes.
• The Calcium Quiz helps you to measure your calcium intake and learn simple ways to add low-fat dairy products to your diet.
• The Women’s Fitness Planner and Teen BEAT (Basic Exercise and Activity Tracker) offer individualized assessments of activity levels.

These tools are available on Dairy Council of California’s website at www.dairycouncilofca.org as well as on Dairy Council of California’s meal-planning website, Meals Matter, at www.mealsmatter.org, which contains hundreds of calcium-rich and lower-fat recipes. It also features individualized tools like a shopping list, personal cookbook and a menu planner.

For more information on pre-diabetes and the American Diabetes Alert Day, please visit www.diabetes.org.

About Dairy Council
Dairy Council of California develops nutrition education programs that are designed to be personally relevant to each user. This customization allows consumers to make decisions considering their unique needs, resulting in healthy food choices and contributing to optimal health. To learn more about Dairy Council of California, please visit www.dairycouncilofca.org. Healthy Eating Made Easier®.

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