More than 90% of those cases are Type 2 Diabetes, which is directly linked to the poor diet and exercise habits of many Americans. We are literally eating ourselves to death. The old school lunch paradigm of providing cheap high carb food to poor children is piling up on the cheap McDonald's, Jack in the Box and other fast food junk they are eating at home. Regular soda has so much sugar in it that each can is like eating a candy bar.
At Team Shebly, we focus on Type I Diabetes because of the unmitigated cruelty it's seeming randomness and incurability visits on families and the patients for life. Type 2 Diabetes is largely preventable: eat less, move more. It's not rocket science, and the vast number who get it because they aren't willing to sacrifice and discipline themselves are obscuring those who have Type 2 as a complication from more serious health problems.
This is a perfect example of why Liz's work at our children's elementary school is so important. She teaches Jr. Jazzercise to the entire student body of some 600 children once a week. From kindergarten through 5th grade, they come to the multipurpose room with their teachers in bunches of about four classes each for a 30-minute dance-based workout tailored to their age-appropriate abilities. This program is funded entirely by the Parent Teacher Organization with no funding from the local school district. It helps fulfill the expanded district mandate that teachers, schooled in academic education of our children, engage them in additional minutes of physical activity each week.
Liz's work not only gets the kids moving in an organized way to popular music they know and love, but also shows them that there are more ways to move and stay fit than organized sports, at which many children are not adept or inclined. She teaches them about various muscle groups, how the body works together and how what they eat impacts how they feel.
This is particularly important for the 4th and 5th graders who don't receive a set physical education program, but are tested on their ability to achieve various physical fitness standards. How crazy is this: The school district provides a physical education teacher for first through 3rd graders. The PE requirement for 4th and 5th graders is up to their regular classroom teacher. But the 5th graders are tested near the end of the school year on their ability to reach various state-mandated physical fitness standards. Without the PTO funding Jr. Jazzercise, these kids would be totally set up to fail. That's why Liz has added a second 30-minute session a week for the 5th graders focusing on core strength training. Last year, the teachers reported that our school saw huge improvements in the physical fitness testing of our 5th grade, and that our school was among the best in the entire district.
All of this ties back to Type 2 Diabetes. A lot of these kids eat late dinners of greasy fast food provided by parents who are commuting long distances, can't afford home-cooked meals or are trying to cram too much into their schedules to pay attention to healthy eating habits. Kids spend lots of time watching TV, playing on computers, text messaging their friends. Predators have made neighborhoods unsafe for children to ride their bikes or skate after school. Urban designers put high-speed four-lane roads through neighborhoods and use narrow sidewalks as the "safe route to school."
Everything has an impact. Learn about Type 2 Diabetes and how to protect yourself and your family from this disease. I can't imagine why anyone would choose to live with the chronic threat to their future that my daughter faces through no fault of her own.
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