LIHU‘E — Two of every three children born in 2000 in Hawai‘i will develop diabetes, Irene Takeshita said Saturday at the Lihu‘e Neighborhood Center. Using data from a 2007 American Diabetes Association report, she said in America one of every
LIHU‘E — Two of every three children born in 2000 in Hawai‘i will develop diabetes, Irene Takeshita said Saturday at the Lihu‘e Neighborhood Center.
Using data from a 2007 American Diabetes Association report, she said in America one of every three children born in 2000 will contract diabetes in their lifetime.
Irene and Carl Takeshita, retired educators, were speaking at the 7th annual Summer Bash, a free event sponsored by Kaua‘i Diabetes Today. The goal was to disseminate information to the general public on diabetes awareness, Eric Nordmeier said.
“When we were young, we did not have this type of information,” Irene Takeshita said. “Using my background as a teacher, we decided we would teach people about diabetes and what they can do about it.”
Takeshita said while the majority of presenters at the Summer Bash were “interveners” — people dealing with how to cope with diabetes once contracted — there are few people who discuss with young people how to delay or prevent contracting the debilitating disease.
Diabetes is a disease in which the human body is unable to properly use and store glucose, a form of sugar. This glucose backs into the bloodstream causing blood glucose to rise too high, states a display prepared by the state Department of Health.
Glucose comes from the food people eat and is needed to fuel bodies. Blood always has some glucose in it because the body needs glucose for energy, states a handout from Your Diabetes Info.org. But having too much glucose in the blood is not healthy.
If the blood glucose stays too high, it can damage many parts of the body such as the heart, eyes, kidneys and nerves.
The pancreas makes insulin which helps get glucose from the blood into the cells that convert the glucose to energy. A person with diabetes makes little or no insulin, resulting in the cells being unable to use insulin well.
There are three types of diabetes.
Type 1 develops in children or young adults where the cells in the pancreas that make insulin are destroyed and no insulin is produced.
People suffering from Type 1 diabetes need to get insulin from shots or a pump daily.
In Type 2, the body produces insulin, but not enough to convert food into energy. This type occurs in people over 40, overweight young people, and people with a family history of diabetes.
People contracting Type 2 diabetes may need to take insulin or pills to help the body’s supply of insulin work better.
Being overweight increases the risk for Type 2 diabetes, states the “What is Diabetes” handout. Teens who make unhealthy food choices, are not physically active, or who have a family member with diabetes are more likely to get Type 2 diabetes.
Some racial groups have a greater chance of getting diabetes, including American Indians, Alaska Natives, African Americans, Hispanics, Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders.
Gestational diabetes is a type of diabetes that occurs when women are pregnant, raising their risk of getting diabetes, usually Type 2, for the rest of their lives. It also raises the child’s risk for being overweight and contracting Type 2 diabetes.
For the past 11 years, the Takeshitas have been working with schools, educators and young people. They have reached more than 200 classrooms throughout Hawai‘i, Guam and the Marianas Islands, talking to about 7,500 people about the disease through the “Diabetes and You” curriculum.
During that time, Irene Takeshita developed a Train-the-Trainer curriculum for the American Diabetes Association, Hawai‘i Chapter, and the state Department of Education to inform children and adults about the dangers of diabetes and the lifestyle changes, including diet and exercise, that can prevent or delay the onset and control the effects of this disease.
They developed the “Diabetes and You” curriculum for the state Department of Health through funds from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to increase the awareness of fourth-grade students and their parents in Hawai‘i’s public schools regarding the dangers of diabetes, primarily Type 1 and Type 2 for children and adults.
This project earned them the American Diabetes Association’s National Youth Program of the Year award in 2004.
During the Summer Bash, emceed by Kaua‘i Mayor Bernard Carvalho Jr., who volunteered to do the task, clients were offered free blood sugar testing as well as free blood pressure readings.
The program included presentations by Don Traller, Diabetes Education for the Kaua‘i Medical Clinic, Tyler Chihara, Susan Smith, Dr. Jean Shein and Dr. John Funai, and the Takeshitas. Kaua‘i Diabetes Today offered a healthy lunch afterward prepared by “Iron Chef Mike” with help from the Lions Club chapters on Kaua‘i.
“We have a lot of room to grow with this program,” said Lion John Uyeno of the East Kaua‘i Lions Club. “We want to be able to see people from all parts of the island take advantage of this kind of free program. We have the room.”
The Summer Bash is one of two activities put on by Kaua‘i Diabetes Today, the other being the “Sweet Heart Ball” in February.
