Childhood Obesity Initiative Puts Focus on Diabetes Prevention

The Diabetes Resource Center of Santa Barbara County and the national Lights on Afterschool program will launch the Santa Barbara Childhood Obesity Initiative from 3 p.m. to 6 p.m. Thursday at Franklin School in Santa Barbara. The focus of the Initiative is preventing diabetes through athletics, fitness programs and better nutrition.

“If we can get children started with healthy lifestyles, they are more likely to have healthy lives,” said Dr. Michael Fisher, director of the Diabetes Resource Center of Santa Barbara County and the brains behind the Childhood Obesity Initiative. “Pre-diabetes doesn’t have to turn into diabetes — with some exercise and an 8 to 10 percent weight loss, we can prevent this disease.” Not to mention preventing the physical costs and financial burden of the resulting heart problems, stroke, amputations, blindness and kidney failures from diabetes.

Building on its success in Carpinteria public schools, the Childhood Obesity Initiative advocacy project will spread to Santa Barbara’s Franklin and Cleveland schools this year.

Funded by a grant from the California Endowment, the initiative is holistic in approach and long range in scope. It includes sports and exercise groups, organic gardening, cooking classes for parents and nutrition programs. Plans are in place for a longitudinal study (birth through 12th grade) to determine if a decrease in obesity can be linked to environmental changes.

Much of the outreach targets at-risk Latino schoolchildren. Latinos display a genetic predisposition to diabetes.

In addition to medical doctors, such Dr. Fisher, dedicated to the success of the Childhood Obesity Initiative, a consortium of health professionals, researchers, social workers, dieticians, educators, community members and elected officials are on board to ensure meeting the program’s goals. Mayor Marty Blum will speak at the event.

Blum, the first California government official to receive the Champion designation and award from the California Medical Association, also serves as Santa Barbara’s representative of the national America on the Move campaign. She has declared Santa Barbara “on the move” to promote healthy lifestyles for children.

For more information about the Diabetes Resource Center and its goals, call 805.687.5586.

Jennifer Goddard is a public relations representative.