Share:

Using Art to Tackle Obesity and Diabetes in Youth

By New York Times


Type 2 diabetes was once known as adult-onset diabetes. But now that term is outdated: Increasingly it is a disease that begins in childhood.

Between 2000 and 2009, the rate of Type 2 diabetes in children jumped more than 30 percent — and it is climbing especially fast among children from poor and minority families. The prevalence of the disease doubled in the last decade among black children and tripled among American Indian children. Black and Hispanic children have eight times the risk of developing the disease compared with others.

Faced with these startling numbers, public health experts and arts educators have teamed up to try a novel approach to preventing the disease in young people. The campaign, called The Bigger Picture, aims to get teenagers and young adults to view the diabetes crises in their communities not just as a medical problem related to poor diet and a lack of exercise but as a social justice problem tied to stress, poverty, violence and limited access to healthy and affordable foods.

Read more: Youth Artists Launch a Revolution to Confront Diabetes

The Bigger Picture Project

UCSF Center for Vulnearable Populations

Type 2 Diabetes

Type 2 diabetes mellitus, formerly called Non-Insulin Dependent Diabetes Mellitus (NIDDM) and Adult Onset Diabetes (AODM), is a disease in which our body acts as if it does not have enough insulin to keep our blood sugar levels down at normal levels. This is likely a combined effect of the body not being normally sensitive to the insulin the pancreas does make combined with the pancreas not making enough insulin for the circumstances. There is a genetic component to this disease. The body uses insulin as a signal to store glucose in liver, muscle, and fat cells. High blood glucose causes many changes in the body that lead to damage to many parts of the body over time

SugarScience Glossary

Diabetes mellitus

Usually shortened to just diabetes. Sometimes called sugar diabetes. Look at Type 1 Diabetes and Type 2 Diabetes for more information

SugarScience Glossary

Stroke

Rapid loss of blood supply to a portion of the brain causing brain damage. This may lead to difficulty with memory, thought, speech, sensation, and movement. Stroke is usually due to blockage of blood vessels in the neck or brain. It is more common as people age, and is associated with high blood pressure, heart disease and diabetes.

SugarScience Glossary