Properly Fitting Shoes Key to Exercise, Stopping Pre-Diabetes
DENVER (CBS4) It’s estimated that 1 in 3 Americans have a condition called pre-diabetes, that means the person is showing symptoms of diabetes, but doesn’t officially have the disease. Most people with pre-diabetes can reverse their diagnosis with changes in their diet and increased exercise. But many people who are overweight suffer from sore feet which makes it hard to want to exercise.
Roger Gallup was diagnosed with pre-diabetes in 2002. He remembers being excessively thirsty, not having much energy, and having high blood pressure.
“They were trying to put me on high blood pressure medication, and I was just determined that that was not what I wanted to do,” Gallup told CBS.
Instead he opted to change his lifestyle. He started eating healthier and took up exercise, something he hadn’t done much of before. Over the course of 12 years, he’s lost 125 pounds. Gallup reversed his diagnosis, but still wants to lose another 30 pounds, so he’s getting a new pair of crossing training shoes with extra support.
“I think that the property footwear is very important in the exercises you do,” Gallup said.
At the New Balance store, a sales associate measures Gallup’s feet and then puts him on a machine that measures the pressure on his feet.
“There’s a lot of pressure on your forefoot up here, and even on the heel, so what we want to do is fill in this gap and sort of redistribute all that pressure in throughout your foot,” said Rob Geer, as he explained the results of the pressure test.
Gallup tries on several shoes, and Geer suggested in arch support in-soles that would help Gallup’s feet as he exercises.
“What that arch support does is sort of fills in that gap…helps take a lot of the pressure off the heel and that forefoot area,” Geer explained.
Don Short had his feet fitted with insoles and support sneakers 10 years ago when he was battling planter fasciitis.
“The pain is now gone. I’m just a more efficient runner and walker,” Short told CBS.
He says the insoles help keep his feet from rolling from one side or the other as they hit the ground.
As for Gallup, he’s changed his eating and exercise habits, and now he’s changing his shoes in order to lead the healthy life that he wants.