My main topic of interest is usually diabetes within the Hispanic
population. Diabetes is a disease I've seen run rampant in my family and in my
community and is often viewed as something that is just meant to happen. It
seems that when you become accustomed to seeing something over and over you
begin to think it's "normal" or that this is just the way things are.
That's a problem because when a preventable disease such as diabetes is
accepted as "just a part of life” then action isn't taken to stop
it.
Diabetes prevalence is high in the Hispanic community but it's
also a big problem in the U.S and around the world. Statistics show there is a
clear rapid increase in prevalence over the past 20 years. The disparities
within different ethnic/cultural groups are also significant. I feel that first
we need to understand that this is not “normal” and we shouldn’t accept it as
just another part of life. We can do something about it.
There are many factors that influence
diabetes prevalence but a big arrow points to one major problem - our
food. We are surrounded by food like substances rather than whole,
nutritious foods. This is leading to many health problems such as obesity, diabetes,
cancers and much more; an overall a poor quality of life for us. We truly are
what we eat. As health educators we need
to provide education for our community as to the value of whole foods vs.
processed foods but we also need to stand up against the policies, environments
and accepted practices that don’t allow easy access to nutritious foods at a
reasonable price while providing low nutrient, high calorie foods cheaply and
in mass quantities.
We can do something to stop or at least slow down the obesity and
diabetes (diabesity) epidemic. One thing we can do is vote with our dollars, the markets will respond.
