Providence St. Patrick Hospital is presenting its annual Diabetes Day this Saturday, October 29.

Clinical Manager at Providence Medical Group's Endocrinology, Diabetes and Nutrition Center, Jennifer Troupe, said the day will be filled with helpful information, seminars and demonstrations to help patients and their families deal with diabetes.

"We'll have speakers from nine to noon, but even before that, from 7 to 9 a.m. we'll have hemoglobin A-1C measurements for five dollars," Troupe said. "We'll be doing blood pressure and weight checks, along with a health fair with exhibitors. There'll be a lot of pharmaceutical vendors who have products out patients might be interested in. From noon to 2 after the lecture, there will be another health fair along with cooking demonstrations, and exercise demonstrations. We will also have 'Ask an Expert' sessions where you can sit down with an endocrinologist, a diabetes educator or a dietitian."

Troupe said cases of diabetes are on the increase, even though the obesity rate is leveling off.

"There's a recent report in 2014 that shows that 9.3 percent of the population has diabetes, and we're also seeing that category of pre-diabetes is significantly higher at about 30 to 40 percent of the population," she said. "Diabetes is kind of the tsunami in healthcare right now. It's really something we've got to get a handle on and take care of and prevent in the first place, if we can."

Troupe said a combination of factors including genetics, lack of exercise and poor nutrition have contributed to the explosion in diabetes cases throughout the country.

Diabetes Day gets underway at 7:00 a.m. until 2:00 p.m. in the Broadway Building at Providence St. Patrick Hospital.

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