Daniela Martinez is a student intern in Illinois State University’s Student Counseling Services and author of this first-person account of her experience with diabetes in her family and marginalized communities.
“Does diabetes run in your family?” was a question I would always hear when getting checkups and at doctor appointments. At first this didn’t make much sense to me, and I couldn’t care less about this question, despite my answer being “yes.”
What is diabetes? Diabetes is a chronic (long-lasting) health condition that affects how the body turns food into energy. Diabetes occurs when there isn’t enough insulin in the body, which leads to excess sugar in the bloodstream. Over time, it can cause serious health problems such as heart disease, high blood pressure, and kidney disease
The severity of diabetes really hit home when my family members would tell me about their symptoms from having severe diabetes. They would mention the rapid decline of their eyesight, extreme fatigue, and unintentional weight loss.
Diabetes is very common. There are three main types of diabetes: Type 1, Type 2, and gestational diabetes (diabetes while pregnant). According to the CDC, “more than 37 million U.S. adults have diabetes, and it is the seventh leading cause of death in the United States.”
Although the stats above are alarming, the statistics for diabetes in marginalized communities are more severe and lesser known. For most health conditions and diseases, marginalized communities are frequently impacted more harshly, and diabetes is not an exception.
Why? For historically marginalized communities, the problem is a combination of risk factors. People who live in low-income communities and those who are educated in under-resourced schools have limited access to information about health and exercise. Most likely they have not been taught the importance of healthy eating and exercise, and may not know how to research these topics on their own or have the resources to do the research. That’s not to mention the presence of food deserts in low-income areas, preventing fresh, healthy food from being readily accessible to those who live within these communities. These are huge barriers to preventing diabetes—and managing the disease once it’s diagnosed.
It became clear to me that I could very well become a victim of diabetes. Not only did it run in my family, but it is known to be the “Hispanic disease.” On top of that, I was making myself more prone to getting diabetes based on my own personal habits. How? Diabetes gets worse when you have bad eating habits and don’t take care of yourself. And at the time, I was eating high amounts of processed foods, and was not giving my body enough movement. A healthy lifestyle was something my family was not used to, and I wanted to make a change not only for the betterment of myself, but also for my family.
I had this realization around the time I was starting college, which made me extremely nervous as I wasn’t sure if the University was going to give me the resources I needed to make a lifestyle change. With that being said, the food served at the dining hall was a pleasant surprise. Although there were many indulgent choices, there was also a fair amount of healthy stations to choose from including the salad bar, the gluten-free section, and the vegetarian bar. As for exercise, the access to a workout facility also did make it easy to increase my personal movement.
National Diabetes Day is important to recognize because diabetes is a complicated, costly disease that impacts some communities more than others. It is important to share with marginalized communities (who may not have access to health care) that poor diet, obesity, and a sedentary lifestyle can lead to the rapid progress of diabetes. We all must advocate for health literacy, abolish food deserts, and expand access to medical care.
A few places that strive to advocate for the health of marginalized groups include the Office of Minority Health and Health Equity (OMHHE). The OMHHE at the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) is building relationships with the American Diabetes Association (ADA) and other groups to help Americans prevent and treat diabetes and address the disparity in how severely it affects marginalized groups.
As for on-campus resources, Student Health Services provides services that can help you determine your current state of health and give you resources to help you reach your goals.
How can you support awareness of diabetes? Gamma Phi Omega is a sorority on campus whose philanthropy benefits the American Diabetes Association. Its website states, “The influence that diabetes has on the Latinx community has prompted our organization to educate others about the perils of the disease.”
