ET FACULTY TURNED WEB CELEB

Two of Sheri Colberg-Ochs' star "pupils" are currently featured in videos on WebMD's website that promote the merits of exercise in managing type 2 diabetes.

Richard Jones is not an Old Dominion student, however, but a faculty member at the university, who participated in two of the exercise science professor's research studies examining the relationship between exercise and its effect on diabetes. The main study, which was funded by the American Diabetes Association and ran for two and a half years, ending in June of this year, was titled "Protective Health Effects of Differing Types and Intensities of Exercise Training in Individuals with Type 2 Diabetes." Richard, a senior lecturer of engineering technology who has taught at ODU since 1994, was filmed, along with Millie Jones of Housing and Residence Life.

Commitment was the key for Richard, 55, a self-described former "couch potato" whose type 2 diabetes was out of control and putting his life in jeopardy. A major infection caused by diabetes landed him in the ICU at Portsmouth Naval Hospital about six years ago, and he also suffered a mini stroke. In his video, "Diabetes and the Heart," he talks about the decision he realized he had to make if he was to turn his life around.

"It was time to either decide, I'm not going to live all that long and be like my dad, who didn't live that long with diabetes - he died in his early 70s - or do I want to live? And so I made that decision to live."

He first made a major change in his eating habits by adopting a heart-healthy diet - one that properly balances proteins and carbohydrates - and then joined Colberg-Ochs' exercise studies. For the study, Richard started out on the treadmill and later added weight lifting rotations. "I pushed hard on any exercise which was focused on lower body and back. I targeted these areas because they are the larger muscles and burn sugar at a higher rate," he explained.

He ultimately built up both his strength and stamina, and today his glucose levels are out of the danger zone. Richard now controls his diabetes without need of insulin injections, which he gave himself daily before he dropped both 60 pounds and an unhealthy lifestyle. Today he is maintaining a weight of 180 pounds and is a lifetime member of Weight Watchers. He also continues to exercise regularly at a local gym.

"I just wanted to live," the retired Navy submarine officer says in the video. "And I wanted to have some quality of life when I live."

As Richard said recently of his participation in Colberg-Ochs' study, "Her program changed my life."

To view the videos, go to: http://diabetes.webmd.com/h2t-managing-diabetes-11/default.htm#nav, then:

• click on any of the links (e.g., "fitness tips")
• click the orange "continue" button at the bottom of the window
• near the bottom of the next window, you'll see a title with a video camera icon (e.g., "diabetes and fitness") - click that link to get to the video windows.