Oregon health officials have outlined a plan meant to combat obesity and obesity-related diabetes in the state, with a focus on preventing them in children.
The plan, formed by 30 members of an advisory committee led by the Oregon Department of Human Services, calls for spending up to $43 million per year to address the underlying factors that contribute to the obesity and diabetes epidemics.
University Health Center nurse Mary Jean Michels, who is certified in diabetes education, said the center is “seeing a small increase in young people” with Type 2 diabetes, the kind influenced by body weight.
She added that the University population does not necessarily reflect the general population of young adults because University students are better-educated and lead healthier lifestyles, on average.
Michels also said ethnicity affects diabetes rates. Native American, Latino and black populations all have higher occurrences of the disease because they are more likely than white populations to carry the gene that causes Type 2 diabetes, she added.
Michels said that as the University becomes more diverse, diabetes rates may increase.
Victoria SkellCerf, a University physician, said the health center tries to educate students about healthy norms and provide services to help students achieve these norms. On Tuesdays, for example, free glucose and cholesterol screenings are provided.
SkellCerf thinks perceptions of what is “normal” need to change, and people should become accustomed to getting a lot of physical activity.
The proposals for the plan will be presented to the January 2009 Oregon Legislature. Some of the professed goals of the plan are addressing underlying causes of health iniquities, such as lack of education and health insurance, and improving health education for children.
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