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Mother Of 3 Changes Lifestyle To Avoid Health Problems That Befell Mom

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By IRENE MAHER, News Channel 8 Medical Editor

Published: February 15, 2008

Bobbie Kingsbury of Land O' Lakes, 37, doesn't have food fights with her children. They love vegetables, salads and fruit. They pass on fast food, sodas and chips. And the only computer game in the house provides a good aerobic workout.

Nine-year-old Charlie, 11-year-old Dalia and 20-year-old Seth know the consequences of an unhealthy lifestyle. They watched their maternal grandmother die slowly of congestive heart failure, the result of a poor diet, sedentary lifestyle, obesity and diabetes.

Eleanor May Gilbert was just 59 when she passed away last September in a Massachusetts nursing home.

When it happened, Bobbie was saddened by more than the loss of her mother. "I also feel a lot of her problems were preventable. And her lifestyle contributed to her demise," she says.

St. Petersburg cardiologist Peter Wassmer says diabetes — especially diabetes related to obesity — is one of the most significant contributors to heart disease. Diabetes causes the buildup of plaque or cholesterol deposits in every vessel in the body, not just those in the heart. According to Wassmer, that includes vessels that carry blood to the legs, the feet, the kidneys, the neck and the brain. When the blood supply is cut off, it can lead to limb amputation, kidney failure, heart attack and stroke.

That's why Wassmer treats diabetics aggressively. "Every diabetic I see is treated as if they have coronary disease or heart disease, because they do," he says. "It may not be major, they may not have symptoms, but they certainly have it."

Heart disease is the No. 1 killer of American women. But there are steps women can take to reduce their risk, such as lowering cholesterol, lowering blood pressure, controlling diabetes, not smoking, becoming more active and eating a healthy diet low in saturated fat and high in fiber.

Bobbie never considered herself at risk for heart disease or at risk of mirroring her mother's seriously deteriorating health. But a midwife who cared for Bobbie during her third pregnancy told her if she didn't make some changes, she would end up just like her mother: obese, diabetic and fighting heart disease at a very young age.

Bobbie decided to make some changes. "I wanted to take my health into my own hands," she says, "and to care for the health of my children as well."

She started by doing some research and learned that preventing diabetes meant more than just avoiding candy bars, her mother's only concession to the disease. She also found that turning her health around hinged on losing weight.

After three pregnancies, Bobbie, who is 5 feet 5 inches tall, tipped the scales at 213 pounds. For her, fighting obesity would mean fighting genetics and a lifetime of unhealthy habits.

Both of Bobbie's siblings were obese, and her mother weighed more than 300 pounds most of her life. Eleanor raised her family on fried foods, pasta, white rice, potatoes and cream-filled pastries. And, according to Bobbie, "She never exercised a day in her life."

Six months after her youngest child was born, Bobbie started working out regularly and changed the family diet to focus on fruits, salads, vegetables and lean meats. She encouraged her children to be active every day and made time to exercise with them by riding bikes together or just walking in the neighborhood. She lost weight and gained satisfaction knowing her children were armed with healthy habits.

The Kingsbury children already know how the combination of obesity, diabetes and heart disease can destroy a life. But thanks to their mother, they see that their own lives don't have to go in the same dangerous direction.

You can learn more about women and heart disease Monday on WFLA, News Channel 8, during our annual Go Red for Women project with the American Heart Association.

We'll have special reports during the 11 a.m. and 5, 5:30 and 6 p.m. newcasts and a phone bank you can call to receive a free packet of information (including a heart-healthy cookbook) and pose questions to medical experts. The phones will be open from 11 a.m. to 12:30 p.m., and again from 4:30 to 7 p.m. The number to call during those hours, on Monday only, is 1-800-528-0808.

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