Lifestyle Effects On Chronic Illnesses
Monday, January 25, 2010
I attended two events last week that really opened my eyes to the benefits of parks and trails as it relates to healthy lifestyles. It was really an eye opener.
When I was young it was very rare that you ran across someone that had diabetes. Children with diabetes was almost unheard of. That trend is changing. By the time my youngest daughter was in middle school, in a class with approximately 200 students, there were four classmates diagnosed with diabetes. Two of them relied on pumps to regulate their insulin. Even though two of them were in my girl scout troops it never really hit me that there has been a real spike in diabetes diagnosis.
While the girls I knew did not have weight issues, the stories we heard last week at the Quality of Life Coalitions' symposium last week illustrated the significance of the American lifestyle on our health. I think the story that really hit home for me was the story of an immigrant family from Cambodia. Dr. Siripoom McKay from Baylor College of Medicine showed us a picture of a family with three children. The parents and oldest daughter were born in Cambodia and spent much of their life there. The youngest two children were born in American and lived a typical American lifestyle. The differences in weight were astounding. The youngest son, at 16, is now dealing with diabetes, high blood pressure, and kidney disease. Dr. McKay works with families to connect them to park and trails facilities in their neighborhood to encourage physical activity.
The second event I attended was Leadership North Houston session on Health & Human Services. In addition to hearing from medical professionals on the impacts of our weight on our health, we saw a heart valve replacement surgery at Ben Taub. The patient was very heavy.
It was an interesting week. I obviously always knew that weight impacted a person's health. It was just interesting to see it from a couple of different perspectives this week.
Oh.....by the way....my husband and I bought bicycles this week.
When I was young it was very rare that you ran across someone that had diabetes. Children with diabetes was almost unheard of. That trend is changing. By the time my youngest daughter was in middle school, in a class with approximately 200 students, there were four classmates diagnosed with diabetes. Two of them relied on pumps to regulate their insulin. Even though two of them were in my girl scout troops it never really hit me that there has been a real spike in diabetes diagnosis.
While the girls I knew did not have weight issues, the stories we heard last week at the Quality of Life Coalitions' symposium last week illustrated the significance of the American lifestyle on our health. I think the story that really hit home for me was the story of an immigrant family from Cambodia. Dr. Siripoom McKay from Baylor College of Medicine showed us a picture of a family with three children. The parents and oldest daughter were born in Cambodia and spent much of their life there. The youngest two children were born in American and lived a typical American lifestyle. The differences in weight were astounding. The youngest son, at 16, is now dealing with diabetes, high blood pressure, and kidney disease. Dr. McKay works with families to connect them to park and trails facilities in their neighborhood to encourage physical activity.
The second event I attended was Leadership North Houston session on Health & Human Services. In addition to hearing from medical professionals on the impacts of our weight on our health, we saw a heart valve replacement surgery at Ben Taub. The patient was very heavy.
It was an interesting week. I obviously always knew that weight impacted a person's health. It was just interesting to see it from a couple of different perspectives this week.
Oh.....by the way....my husband and I bought bicycles this week.
posted by jboullion at
7:40 AM
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