Health Fair Teaches Kids Food Choices, Diabetes Prevention
Wednesday, 16 November 2011 22:57
A Healthy Celebration, an annual, on-campus health fair, brings groups from all over Arizona together to do one thing- educate.
The fair, part of a University of Arizona campus-wide celebration of Native American Heritage Month, was held last Saturday in front of the Arizona State Museum. Guests enjoyed live music, cultural foods and the chance to win prizes. Tables for organizations from theTucson Waldorf School to the Native Eyes Showcase were scattered all across the lawn, offering games, information and freebies.
Some groups, like the Inter Tribal Council of Arizona, the Arizona Diabetes Alliance and the American Diabetes Association, came specifically to talk about diabetes, a disease that disproportionately affects Native Americans when compared to the overall U.S. population. According to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, 16 percent of Native Americans have diabetes.
“I think our lifestyle has changed over the decades and we’re not getting out for various reasons,” said Melva Zerklune, a registered dietician with the Inter Tribal Council of Arizona. “Technology is great but it has some side effects as far as exercise and eating healthy.”
Zerklune attended Saturday’s event to promote a healthy diet and exercise choices. Children who visited the Inter Tribal Council of Arizona’s table played “pin the spoon on the MyPlate” and learned about traditional, healthy foods.
Diabetes has increased in Native Americans due to an increase in the availability of fast food, Zerklune said.
“It’s awfully easy just to pick up something fast rather than to cook something that might be a little bit more healthy," she said.
Monica Lopez, a superivising nutritionist with the Indian Health Services (IHS) Diabetes Prevention Program, said an increase in farming technology and grocery stores was also to blame.
“We no longer have to work to make food,” she said.
The IHS table offered a bingo game that depicted food choices instead of random numbers. Water was used as the “free space.” Winners received tote bags, hacky sack balls and apples.
Lopez said kids and parents “really got in to the spirit of playing. I think they had fun.”
Another factor in high diabetes rates is a sense of fatalism among those at high risk for the disease.
“They think it’s inevitable that they’ll get it, because it’s so common in their environment,” Lopez said. “We try to reverse that thinking.”
Since prevention strategies are often not widely known, the IHS Diabetes Prevention Program also gives presentations in schoolrooms on nutrition and physical activity. Lopez said many people believe they have to make radical lifestyle changes in order to avoid diabetes, however small changes, like exercising a few times a week, can make a big difference.
“There’s really a lot of work to do, but with this bingo game we’re trying to make it as fun as possible,” she said.
Read about the ninth annual Veteran's Day Gourd Dance.
Learn about University of Arizona Native American Student Affairs.
Written by Madelaine Archie You are reading Health Fair Teaches Kids Food Choices, Diabetes Prevention articles
News
- Streetcar Construction Creates Difficulty for Downtown Businesses
- Take Back the Night: Cover it Live
- Organ Pipe Cactus National Monument clears air about dangers of the border
- Personal activism turns into motivation for demonstration
- Missing on the Border
- University of Arizona NROTC members may carry weapons on training hikes near Mexico
- The Reincarnation Tour: Celebrating a Vibrant and New Central Phoenix
- Identificame
Culture
People
Education
- Rap, Culture & God Lecture
- Cover it Live - CBP's Mario Escalante will share tips of how to be a better border reporter with SPJ.
- Cover it Live: Margaret Regan Talk on Arizona-Mexico Border Stories
- Similarities Emphasized at ‘Queer-ability’ Discussion
- The Essence of Gamma Alpha Omega
- Spanish Heritage Learner Program Enhances UA Education
- Arizona Women's Heritage Trail
- Border Beat Class
Health
Sports
- Cover it Live Boxing Training Session
- UA Decathlete Strives to Make the Most of Life in the US
- Ride Report- Premises Park Progress
- The Grip On Tucson Climbing
- Shootout decides 2012 Desert Diamond Cup Championship Game
- Soccer Success Still Kicking in Tucson
- L.A Galaxy v. New York Red Bulls
- La Fiesta de los Vaqueros Tucson Rodeo
Border Beat Blogs
Educación en la FronteraBy: Shannon Maule
A look at higher education in regard to those who have and have not been able to travel from various countries to the United States. Stories from people in the higher education world relating to the border.
A Mosaic AmericaBy: Rachel Kolinski
"Exploring Diversity one Face at a Time"
By: Hope Jamieson
Explore dance throughout the borderlands.
A City of Musical DiversityBy: Maria Teracena
Tucson musicians influence and are influenced by the sounds of the world.
Culture CrossingBy: Chelsey Barthel
American borders are crossed every day by cultures of all kind. These stories tell the personal experiences of people from different lands, offering further insight into the difference of cultures.
By: Lauren Inouye
A look at Mexican and Latin films that reflect culture, politics, and society -- reviews, research and analysis.
By: Charles Misra
Stories about martial arts and combat sports with a cultural twist, all finding a home in America's southwestern borderlands.
Border PeopleBy: Jamie Turow
Profiles of English language learners.
By: Jessica Hoerth
Meet some of the people in Tucson who have made the journey across the border as they share what they came in search of and what struggles they may have encountered along the way.
By: Lauren Urratio
Fashion and how it is impacted by the border and international cultures.
By: Lucy Valencia
News from along the border with Mexico
The Border ProjectBy: Melissa Guz
"The Border Project" is an art showcase located in the University of Arizona's Museum of Art. It has over 40+ art pieces related to border issues.
Athletics and the BorderBy: Preston Fawcett
Get to know high school coachs and athletes from Arizona border towns or from Mexico and their struggles to get to where they are.
By: Audrey A. Fitzsimmons
The Southwest boasts of diverse ethnic backgrounds and a wealth of interesting personalities. Border Personalities is dedicated to the people of the Southwest and their stories.
By: Jeff Kessler
U.S. - Mexico border issues, current events, and interesting local stories
Music of the BorderBy: Steven Schiraldi
Music reviews of musical works by Mexican or other ethnic artists.
By: Brett Haupt
A visual exploration of America’s last frontier -- pictures and videos from different areas of the wall and fence that separate two different worlds and insight into what really stands between the United States and Mexico, ramifications of wall building and what it means for the average citizen.
Border AthletesBy: Lauren Sokol
Meet international student athletes at the University of Arizona, a look at the recruiting process that helped them find a temporary home in the desert, and culture changes that the athletes might have endured.
Journey Across the BorderBy: Emily Kjesbo
Spotlighting Mexico’s top travel destinations, as well as a few of its hidden gems.
Border ShotsBy: Keith Perfetti
A photojournalist looks at how other photographers have viewed the border and shoots lesser known spots of the southwest.
MLS Soccer comes to the Desert
By: Jeff Kessler
All about the 2012 Desert Diamond Cup, a 10 day exhibition soccer tournament featuring four Major League Soccor teams coming to Tucson.