Steps to keep Type 2 diabetes under control

Keeping Type 2 diabetes under control isn’t terribly complicated — all patients have to do is maintain a healthy weight, eat plenty of fruits and vegetables as part of a low-calorie and low-fat diet, and follow their doctor’s prescriptions for taking insulin or drugs to lower their blood sugar. But diabetes damage often goes unseen, so it’s all too easy for patients to ignore this advice and continue their bad habits.

Dr. Anne Peters, director of the USC Clinical Diabetes Program, says she wants her patients’ blood sugar, blood pressure and cholesterol levels to be in the normal range. Ideally, she adds, patients would also have a body mass index of less than 25, the threshold for being overweight. “But when someone’s sitting in front of you,” she says, “you want to figure out what they can do.”