HispanicBusiness

Book can be ordered free of charge on newly launched Spanish patient education Web site Cambiarladiabetes.com

Dr. Soraly Servera, medical scientific director at Novo Nordisk, agrees that this book is the first step to making permanent changes to start living a healthy life.

Princeton, NJ--(HISPANIC PR WIRE)--October 17, 2007--Most people don’t stop bad habits until they have had a serious health scare. Such was the case for presidential candidate and former Arkansas governor, Mike Huckabee, when he was diagnosed with type 2 diabetes in 2002. After his personal success at shedding 100-plus pounds, he has found a platform to share his secrets to creating better health habits in his book, Quit Digging Your Grave with a Knife and Fork.

Novo Nordisk, a world leader in diabetes care, has translated 35,000 copies of this best-selling book into Spanish and is giving it away for free on their newly launched diabetes educational website, CambiarLaDiabetes.com. The highly motivational and witty book has won bi-partisan praise from former President Bill Clinton and Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger who called Huckabee’s lifestyle change, “a model for our nation as we fight an obesity epidemic.”

“Diabetes is an incurable disease and urgent health problem that disproportionately affects Hispanics, but with the proper knowledge and care, people can learn to mange their diabetes and lead a full and active life,” said Dr. Soraly Servera, medical scientific director at Novo Nordisk. “This book will take the first step, by providing readers with an easy-to-follow approach that is not focused on losing weight, but on making permanent changes to start living a healthy life.”

To complement the book, Novo Nordisk has launched CambiarLaDiabetes.com, an interactive Spanish-language Web site that helps users optimize diabetes care. By registering on the site users can immediately access critical information about diabetes and utilize online tools.

The site offers consumers at every stage of diabetes with additional information on diabetes and tools that will help them put that knowledge to use in their daily lives. Highlights of the site include:

-- Learning About Diabetes - This section focuses on basic information about diabetes including the causes and signs of diabetes, diabetes medication and what is included in a diabetes care plan.

-- Managing My Diabetes – This feature provides users information about taking medication, checking glucose levels and healthy eating.

-- Meal Planning Tools – Includes diabetes-friendly recipes in single or family-sized portions along with access to exchange lists.

“This new Web site offers information that allows people with diabetes to learn about the disease so they can make good choices,” said Arturo R. Rolla, MD, professor, Harvard Medical School and Tuft University School of Medicine, Boston. “More importantly, it also provides resources that help people develop the skills to put that knowledge to use in their daily lives, which may lead to reduced risks of diabetes-related complications and an overall healthier lifestyle.

About Diabetes and Obesity in Hispanic Americans

On average, about 2.5 million or 9.5 percent of all Hispanic Americans aged twenty years or older have diabetes.(1) The trend is also affecting the younger population, with nearly half of Hispanic children born in the year 2000 likely to develop diabetes during their lifetime.(2)