Drop It! Challenge comes just in time for Deen disciples

It was a dark day for those of us who like our hamburgers topped with bacon and a fried egg and served between two Krispy Kreme donuts.

Television food diva Paula Deen’s confession last week that while she’s been teaching us all how to prepare “home-style” favorites loaded with fat and butter, she’s been living with Type 2 diabetes for the past three years hit pretty hard. Of course, the shock wasn’t in Ms. Deen’s diagnosis but in the blinders so many of us were willing to put on because Paula’s celebrity convinced us we could eat anything we wanted.

I’m not interested in piling on now that Deen is down – I wish her nothing but the best in a battle to make the lifestyle changes necessary to control her disease. She certainly won’t be down for long; Deen only announced her condition after she landed a new drug endorsement contract and her son Bobby created a spin-off show entitled “Not My Mama’s Meals” where he takes the family recipes and cuts the fat and calories.

That said, making money off bad news isn’t going to be the problem for Deen. It’s laying off of those donuts that will require more effort on her part, and ours. (And they say cigarettes are hard to quit.)

Paula Deen may have to reinvent herself, but she certainly didn’t invent diabetes. More than 25 million Americans, about 8 of the population, have the disease. Most of these cases are Type 2 diabetes, and obesity is the No. 1 risk factor. Those numbers are only expected to rise in a country famous for frying steak in a chicken coating (I’m not judging, I’m just looking in the mirror).

And while the ultimate cost of diabetes will certainly be in our ability to enjoy the last decades of our lives, we shouldn’t discount the other costs as well. According to 2007 figures from the American Diabetes Association, juvenile and Type 2 diabetes cost $116 billion in excess medical expenses a year.

So what can we do about it. First, we can resolve (it is still January) to make better decisions about what we eat. Second, we can forgive ourselves immediately when we fail, so that we can immediately resolve to try again. (Nothing loves a shame spiral like cookies and ice cream.) Third, we’re going to have to get more active, even in the hardest time of year to do so. And lastly, we’re going to need help and support.

Fortunately, we have all been invited to take that last step, first. Registration is now open for the third annual Drop it! Challenge at Powell Wellness Center in Culpeper. The free 12-week program is open to anyone and everyone, and while the biggest weight losers will be the ones who make headlines, the challenge is a team effort with a goal to lose 5,000 lbs.

You can register through Friday, January 27 (visit www.dropitchallenge.com for forms and information). And then make a plan to attend the free interactive health fair this Saturday, January 28, from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. at the Daniel Technology Center.

According to organizers, “there will be over 30 booths providing free health screenings and activities for children of all ages. There will also be healthy snacks, great give-a-ways, fitness demos, health seminars and much more.”

For our own health, Deen’s confession should serve as a wake-up call to us disciples that the best way to treat Type 2 diabetes isn’t with a $500/month drug, it’s to prevent the onset of the disease.

Clements’ column runs each week on the oped page. He lives in Downtown Culpeper.