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Today, I feel more humbled, and I feel that we face much more of a public health challenge. I worked the health screenings registration table, and while I felt energized by the fact that we screened 221 individuals in 6 hours, I also became increasingly sceptical about “simple” solutions as the day wore on. I witnessed many distressing scenes; here are a few of them:
- A mother and a daughter, both obese and the mother in a wheelchair, argued a few steps away from the health screening registration table about “accepting” that the daughter is at risk for diabetes.
- One woman asked me to help her fill out the screening registration form, which I gladly agreed to do. In helping her, I then found out that she needed help because her eyesight was deteriorating due to uncontrolled diabetes. She was diagnosed 4 years ago with diabetes, hypertension, and high cholesterol, but has never been on any medication because she can’t afford it.
- Most people came over to the registration table with drinks, which was understandable as it was a HOT day. But the drinks were: full-calorie 20-ounce sodas, Taco Bell cups, McDonald’s cups.
Over the 3 days at Artscape, 6,092 individuals visited the Changing Diabetes bus, and 494 individuals received free health screening.
I am proud to be a part of Novo’s Youth Panel, extremely proud of the work we are doing to raise awareness of diabetes, support the UN Resolution and its implementation. But at this moment, I’m ashamed of the health of this country.
So here is my call to action for young people, for policymakers, for educators, for physicians, for city planners, for parents, for individuals. Advocate for healthier environments. Encourage your schools to provide healthier foods and drinks to children. Demand improved and increased physical activity opportunities in your neighbourhoods. Educate health professionals for better diabetes prevention, care and management. Convince your friends and families to stay healthier, and active.
Take a look around your environment, and it isn’t hard to figure out where the obesity and type 2 diabetes epidemics originate. But it isn’t too late to change the course of diabetes throughout the world. We can – and must - change.
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