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"Educating Communities About Type-2 Diabetes"Good morning, and thank you. It's great to be here with you today. On behalf of President Bush and the entire Administration, I would like to commend the VHA Health Foundation for their efforts to help protect American children against Type 2 diabetes. I would also like to thank the Novartis US Foundation for their support in helping this program reach the people and communities who need it most. The staggering rise in childhood obesity and Type 2 diabetes is a problem that we cannot afford to ignore. This is a preventable disease - but many at-risk communities require assistance that demands the kind of partnership we see here today. Too often when it comes to our health, we put great effort into curing illnesses, but very little into preventing them. And minority populations in particular suffer greatly from this trend, from problems of inactivity and overweight. Today, no less than 17 million Americans have diabetes - about one out of every twenty. But the problem is twice as bad among Hispanics - one out of ten adult Hispanics has diabetes. And it's not just adults. Children are developing Type 2 diabetes with increasing number, and again, Hispanic children are suffering disproportionately. This was once considered a disease of the middle-aged and elderly - and now we're seeing it in our children. It is estimated that by 2020, roughly one in every five American children will be of Hispanic origin - and the number of these children diagnosed with diabetes continues to rise. Hispanics are not the only minority population that is clearly at-risk. Over the past few years, I have visited several Native American reservations throughout the nation. I've seen the terrible toll that obesity-related illnesses like diabetes take in these communities. Old and young must line up together for dialysis, tethered to the machine that gives them life for a few more days. The sight of so many lost limbs and crippled lives breaks my heart. All of these facts are too troubling to ignore and too grim to accept. And I'm here to today to tell you, this Administration is not accepting them - we're acting to change them, and acting boldly and with energy and focus. One of the key ways we're doing this is through our nationwide preventive health initiative. The good news is that these diseases can be prevented, and we've launched a nationwide effort to encourage people of all ages and backgrounds to take some simple steps to safeguard their health. According to the National Institutes of Health, the simple loss of 10 to 15 pounds can decrease your chances of developing Type 2 diabetes by 58 percent. The NIH study shows that just doing simple things - like walking 30 minutes a day, 5 days a week - can have major health benefits. That's the kind of message we need to get out to Hispanic and Native American communities. We're working to educate the public through targeted efforts, including the National Institute of Health's National Diabetes Education Program, which is supported by more than 200 partner organizations. The National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases (NIDDK) is funding clinical trials to help prevent and treat type 2 diabetes in children. President Bush's fiscal year 2003 budget proposal will include $20 million for a new Healthy Communities Innovation Initiative that will focus on educating Americans about diabetes and obesity. And two bilingual campaigns - "Take Time to Care About Diabetes" and "Cuide Su Corazon" - are designed to help Hispanic Americans understand what they can do to help prevent diabetes and heart disease. That's the same kind of message that the VHA Health Foundation and Novartis US Foundation are taking to these at-risk populations with this program. Their compassion shows in the launch of this new educational campaign, one that I know will be a great help as we strive to extend better health and a higher quality of life to Hispanic Americans… to Native Americans… and to all Americans. Thank you for all that you do to create a better life. And thank you for letting me speak with you today. Last Revised: October 17, 2002 |
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