School Fights Diabetes

Filed in archive News on October 25, 2006

After seeing more and more students diagnosed with diabetes, teachers and administrators at one high school decided to fight back against the disease. Much of their efforts are centered on obesity, which has long been shown to have a direct link to the development of Type 2 diabetes in children.

Because of this, Miami Lakes High School now offers free yearly diabetes screenings for all students.

Since the program began in 2004, about 1,500 students -- 500 each year -- have been screened for risk factors that could lead to diabetes -- obesity, high blood pressure and elevated blood glucose levels. Many of these high school students -- 80 percent Hispanic and 13 percent black (non-Hispanic) -- in this middle-class area were already beginning to show signs of diabetes.

And one of them ended up having emergency surgery in 2004, Stern says. ``She had some type of tumor . . . potentially life threatening because of her blood pressure. We saw her again last year and her vital signs were still elevated. . . . We sent her back to her physician. We literally saved a life.''

Last year, 15 percent of the students screened had elevated blood pressure, Eichelbaum says, and 12 percent had high glucose levels. ``We're talking 14-, 15-year-olds.''

Last month, about 150 students and faculty from Nova were on hand to do the testing -- about double from the first year. The kids were screened for lifestyle assessments, abdominal girth measurements and body mass index.

When including these measures, one-third of the students are considered obese, says Michael Funk, a physician assistant at Nova who was one of the 80 ''overwhelmed'' staffers there for the first screening.

''It's shocking,'' says Giselle Serrano, 17, a senior who helped organize the program. ``This brings awareness to our students, to our parents and to our community.''

School is the perfect place to educate children about diabetes, but is it their responsibility? What do you think is the best way to ensure the health of our children?