Article/Column

Watching the movie Soul Food, we can all relate to the portrayal of Sunday dinners at Mama Joe’s house. Most of us have enjoyed her delicious spread of fried chicken, macaroni and cheese, and other culinary delights on our own dinner tables.

 

For all the joys of these traditional African American dinners, however, even thinking about them is enough to clog our arteries.  All too often, the way that we eat is directly connected to the way that we will die.

 

Thoughts of Mama Joe’s cooking cannot overcome the harsh reality that diabetes is now the fourth leading cause of death in African American families.  More than 3 million of us, or thirteen percent, are now burdened by this disease.

 

This is almost twice the incidence of diabetes among Caucasians – and our traditional diet is a major contributor to this disparity.

 

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), one in two minority Americans born since 2000 will develop type 2, or adult-onset, diabetes.  By our ethnicity alone, African Americans are already at a higher risk of developing this disease. 

 

However, other factors contributing to diabetes are preventable—including high blood pressure, abnormal cholesterol, and insufficient physical activity.

 

Medical experts are adamant.  By choosing to move more and eat less, we can extinguish our vulnerability to this disease – and prevent it from extinguishing us.

 

The benefits of a healthier lifestyle are clear. 

 

Diabetes leads to a vast array of health problems including blindness, amputations, and kidney, nerve, and dental disease.  Sixty-five percent of deaths associated with diabetes are caused by heart disease and stroke.

 

In fact, adults with diabetes are 2-4 times more likely to die of heart disease than those who have not been weakened by the disease. African Americans with diabetes are even more likely to suffer from these complications than our white counterparts.

 

While the number of African American deaths caused by diabetes has increased significantly in the past ten years, there is some good news.

 

A report released this month by the CDC found that, among African Americans with diabetes who are age 35 and older, the self-reported incidence of cardiovascular disease decreased by more than 25 percent between 1997 and 2005.

 

Furthermore, studies also have given hope to people with pre-diabetes—a condition in which levels of blood glucose are abnormally high (but not high enough for a diagnosis of diabetes). The threat of pre-diabetes is serious: nearly all adults with type 2 diabetes first had pre-diabetes.  However, the development of type 2 diabetes can be prevented or delayed by up to 58 percent through simple changes in lifestyle—such as reducing body weight by 5 to 10 percent and participating in moderate physical activity (such as taking a thirty-minute walk) 5 days a week.  For an adult weighing 200 lbs., this would mean losing only 10-20 lbs.

 

Taking such proactive measures has even been shown to reverse elevated blood sugar levels back to a normal range.

 

Having lost over 40 pounds myself in recent months, I can personally attest to how simple this feat is. I eat smaller portions of healthier food, and I make time to work out every day—even when Congress is in session.

 

While it is clear that making small adjustments to lifestyle can help prevent pre-diabetes from escalating into full-blown diabetes, as well as prevent diabetes-related complications such as heart disease, we must make efforts to prevent our blood sugar levels from getting so high in the first place.

 

Our elders often speak casually about having “a little sugar” when the doctor warns them of their high blood pressure, but this condition is a siren alarming all of us at every age to take charge of our health.

 

It is vital that we start with the youngest among us.  We must educate our children about the importance of eating healthfully and exercising regularly. The need for this increased public awareness is driving a national movement to make healthy foods available to every American child.  It is no secret that low-income and urban areas are already at a disadvantage. Too many families in these areas lack access to grocery stores that stock fresh produce and healthy snacks at an affordable price.

 
At the federal level, I have been working hard to ensure that we address these broader issues through legislation.  The Farm Bill, H.R. 2419, which the House of Representatives passed over the summer, makes vital expansions to the nutrition programs that help 35 million low-income families. Included is an expansion of the Fresh Fruit and Vegetable Snack Program to all fifty states, which provides all schoolchildren with the opportunity to eat healthfully. Additionally, this legislation includes a program that provides vouchers to low-income seniors that can be used to purchase fresh fruits and vegetables from farmers’ markets.

 

I realize, however, that passing legislation is not enough.  We must also rise up together as a community and educate our loved ones about the causes and risks associated with our daily diets.

 

This month is American Diabetes Month. We should all share information about protecting ourselves from this disease with at least three people we love.

 

In addition, I will be sponsoring a Diabetes Health Fair on Monday, November 19, that will include free screenings and information on diabetes. The event will be held from 11:30 am to 2 pm at Maryland General Hospital’s Gatch Auditorium, at 827 Linden Avenue in Baltimore.

 

Diabetes poses a serious threat to our community. We must do everything possible to stop our loved ones from living and dying this way.