Diabetic Live

Swine Flu, Diabetes and Minorities: African American’s and Latinos may have more to fear from the H1N1 (Swine) flu than other ethnicities. Recent reports from Boston and Chicago indicate the majority of cases in those cities are among these two ethnic groups.

One of the causes cited is the tendency among these groups to have chronic health conditions like diabetes and asthma. When chronic illnesses are present there is a greater risk of suppressed immunity. In other words this scenario may make them more susceptible to contracting additional diseases – in this case swine flu.

A recent NPR report suggests, “Young people are more at risk of getting swine flu, and pregnant women, among others, have a higher chance of hospitalization from the new flu. Now public health officials are discovering that blacks and Latinos have a substantially higher risk of both.”

This report further suggests that it may be a combination of current health issues and ‘social circumstances’ that contribute to this alarming trend.

Researchers are making a vaccine for the H1N1 virus available, but it requires two separate inoculations for full effect. The struggle many African Americans and Latinos have is that it can be difficult to manage time for two separate doctor visits for the best protection from this flu strain. In many cases if a first injection is received a follow up injection may never happen.

The NPR report demonstrates the growing difference in Boston, “Blacks make up one-quarter of the city’s population, but they were 37 percent of the swine flu cases. Latinos are 14 percent of the population, but more than one-third of those with confirmed cases of the new H1N1 virus this spring and summer were Latino.”

In Boston the H1N1 virus seems to be hitting the black community the hardest. Many of the cases involving African Americans required hospitalization. A secondary marker for hospitalized cases was the addition of asthma among patients.

It is anticipated that health care providers will need to convince patients to come in for three separate visits. The first would be for the annual flu vaccine. This would be followed up by two visits when the swine flu vaccine becomes available in all areas of the country.

Dr. Steve Tringale of Codman Square Health Center in Boston told NPR, “[It’s] always a challenge, to come back a second time for full protection. Taking the time off work or getting babysitters or whatever it takes is always going to be an effort for patients.”

Boston is just one community urging business owners to allow their employees to take time off work to get the needed vaccinations.

For diabetics in general it is important to note that asthmatic conditions are common among diabetics. The risks involved in contracting flu strains are always troubling for those with diabetes, but especially so with the H1N1 virus. It is considered vital that those with diabetes take advantage of swine flu vaccinations when they become available. There was a time when the emphasis was only on the very young, those who were pregnant and senior citizens. This has been expanded to those with chronic illnesses. H1N1 has claimed lives and has also sent many to the hospital for an extended stay. Taking the time needed to protect yourself from this debilitating strain is not only advisable it could save your life.

Answer to Diabetes, Weight Loss and Coronary Disease: What if there was a way to inhibit the growth of fat cells within the body? What if because those fat cells were no longer resistant to insulin Type 2 diabetes was effectively eliminated? Those are the astounding ‘what if’s’ contemplated in new genetic research.

ScienceDaily.com noted, “Pappachan Kolattukudy, director of UCF’s Burnett School of Biomedical Sciences in the College of Medicine, found that a gene called MCPIP (Monocyte Chemotactic Protein-1 Induced Protein) controls the development of fat cells. Until now, a different protein, known as peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor gamma (PPAR gamma), has been universally accepted as the master controller of fat cell formation, known as adipogenesis.”

Until now scientists have been looking at the wrong body protein in fat formation. What this means in it’s most simplified form is that new drug therapies can be developed that essentially tell the MCPIP to stop developing fat cells.

Obesity has become a global problem and diabetes follows this trend hand in hand. As health care costs continue to escalate and health care reform continues to be debated at a national level and in coffee shops around the world the answer to one of the greatest health care issues of our time may finally have an answer. ScienceDaily.com confirms the significance of this research, “The UCF findings give scientists a new direction for developing drugs that could benefit the more than 300 million people worldwide who are clinically obese — and who have much higher risks of suffering from chronic disease and disability. In addition, it is projected that more than 300 million people will be diabetic by the year 2025.”

As fat cells become inflamed they also become resistant to the beneficial effects of insulin. When that happens Type 2 diabetes can develop. This tiered process results in billions of dollars in health care costs each year.

It could be argued that diet and exercise can manage this issue on its own. In many cases this is true. However, there are exceptions to this rule. The potential development of drug therapies would likely not be a conventional approach to weight loss in that this approach would simply work to target MCPIP. The net effect would be better glucose control and a reduction in the development of Type 2 diabetes. Weight loss would be a welcome addition to the benefits. To put this in perspective Kolattukudy said, “Our research has shown that MCPIP is a regulator of fat cell formation and blood vessel formation that feeds the growing fat tissue. Therefore, a drug that can shut down its function can prevent obesity and the major inflammatory diseases resulting from obesity, including diabetes and cardiovascular diseases.”

The reason inflamed fat cells make the body less capable of managing blood sugar is that they essentially repel the blood sugar from being accepted by the cells in the body so the glucose is forced into the blood stream by default. If the fat cells were able to resist inflammation then the blood glucose and insulin development would partner in effective management of the body’s energy and resulting elimination of excess glucose.

Like many advances in medical science this is both good news and bad. The good news is that this discovery will likely result in improved medical care. The bad news is more research will be required in order to proceed with drug development. What that means is that any drug therapy based on this discovery may still be several years away.

Health Care Reform Savings Overblown: American President Barack Obama has been very visible stumping for his health care reform plan. While some may argue about whether it is a grab for more government control others seem focused on clarity in medical cost issues.

Fact checkers have been pouring over details and statements made regarding the health care reform. One huge stumbling block has been Chronic Disease Management. Those in league with the President are quick to point out significant savings over the life of the patient by providing this element in a nationalized public health plan, although a government office seems to dispute the findings.

The Washington Post reported that several analysts believe that the cost of the plan (at more than $1,000 per patient per year) will actually cost the government more than traditional health programs. The Washington Post clarifies this fact in their report. “For diabetes patients, only about two-thirds of that cost would be recovered in the first decade, when fewer complications materialize, and more than three-quarters would be recovered over 25 years. Only for the youngest patients, those aged 24 to 30, would spending on preventive care wind up producing a net savings: the study calculates that $21 billion spent on younger patients would cut overall spending on their health care by $6 billion over 25 years.”

Recently an article in Health Affairs sides with aggressive chronic disease management. Pharmaceutical company Novo Nordisk Inc. paid for a study that, “Suggests that if the right programs are implemented, chronic disease management might actually be more cost-effective than some estimates suggest,” according to an article in FierceHealthFinance.

The difficulty is the Congressional Budget Office (CBO) is deriving some pessimistic figures by using one set of information while other organizations use separate data points. According to HealthCareFinanceNews, “The study’s (Novo Nordisk Inc.) authors present a new epidemiologically based model that projects federal costs for type 2 diabetes under different policy options. They argue that this model, and similar models for other chronic diseases such as heart disease, could be used to provide more accurate estimates of the long-term spending associated with diabetes treatment interventions.”

The sticking point is that the CBO looks at chronic diseases like diabetes for a period of ten years (projecting forward). Some analysts believe that timeframe is too small and should be widened to get a bigger picture that they believe would demonstrate savings.

Michael O’Grady, a senior fellow at NORC in Bethesda, Md. stated, “For many chronic illnesses, and in the case of diabetes in particular, complications from the disease may not show up for many years. Thus, cost estimates covering only 10 years may capture the up-front costs of prevention and disease management efforts but not the long-term health and economic benefits of avoiding future complications.”

It has been suggested that the CBO take a look at the cost analysis for prevention programs through a 25-year lens. This would allow a better projection on the costs related to prevention of diseases under President Obama’s health care reform plan.

Working models of this financial aspect indicate that the long-term costs of the program may, in fact, be less than the cost of current reactive care.

Independent of any health care reform medical science continues to urge Americans to watch what they eat and get enough exercise. The end result is enhanced blood glucose control and a physical condition that just feels better.

What We Can Learn From the Nigerian Diabetes Struggle: It may be rare that a diabetic news items comes from Africa, yet a recent editorial in Nigeria’s Daily Trust provides some interesting items to consider when discussing diabetes.

Unlike the United States and other well developed countries Nigeria does not have an effective means of tracking cases of diabetes, but this editorial indicates the estimated number of Nigerians who live with diabetes is about 5 million. The reasons for the increase are many, but this editorial provides some ideas.

“The rise of diabetes cases is occasioned by our changing and sedentary life-styles especially in urban areas where there are hardly places for sporting activities and public parks for recreation.”

“School children in both primary and secondary schools no longer have spaces for games and other physical exercises to improve their mental and physical fitness.”

“Children in the urban areas mostly stay indoors playing video games and watching television instead of exercising themselves.”

“The prevalence of junk, sugary and other fast-food restaurants contributes in no small measure in the escalation of the ailment.”

“In the urban areas, either because of cultural factors where the affluent men and women in the community cannot freely walk to exercise themselves, for instance for fear of exposure to kidnapping or other hazard, there are rampant cases of obesity that easily lead to diabetes.”

The editorial staff at the Daily Trust also provided what they believe to be remedial action needed to stop the progression of the disease in Nigeria.

“We call on the government to intensify public awareness about the causes of the ailment and the necessary preventive measures the public should take.”

“Those already diagnosed to be diabetic… should be enlightened on how the condition can be properly managed and at the same time live a perfectly normal life.”

“We call on the federal government to establish a National Diabetes Centre in Abuja for the research and treatment of the disease.”

“We urge the government to take special interest in the several claims by herbalists and traditional medicine practitioners for the treatment of the condition.”

The editorial provides a look at what writer(s) perceive to be the issues that contribute to the growth of diabetes in Nigeria. In many ways the struggles against a sedentary lifestyle and time consumed with video games and other electronics sound oddly familiar.

When it comes to ways to address the issue the writer(s) call on government help combined with personal responsibility to manage the growth of the disease.

While it might be easy to scoff at the notion of consulting with “herbalists and traditional medicine practitioners” there have been numerous advances in medicine based on the common sense practices of men and women who took what they had to create home spun potions to help treat various ailments. You don’t have to spend much time online to find information dedicated to natural remedies. The Daily Trust suggestion may not be as far fetched as you think.

Currently diabetics use various teas and supplements to provide some relief for their condition. It is likely there are several other traditional medicines that could prove beneficial as well.

What we can all agree with is that we long for a day when there is a solution to diabetes and the days of strict management will no longer be needed because a new life freedom has been found.

Let’s keep pressing for that day – together.

The Hannah Montana Diabetes Connection: If you have tweenagers, or even those younger at home, they are likely very aware of the Disney television phenomenon Hannah Montana. Star Miley Cyrus pulls double duty as both Miley Stewart (normal teenager) and Hannah Montana (alter ego pop star). The show plans to tackle the issue of Type 1 diabetes.

Originally slated for last November the show was panned by those who felt it did not adequately portray the disease. In many instances the pre-viewing public considered the show to send out mixed signals at best and misinformation at worst.

While that original episode was not aired the desire to tackle the subject remained an issue for Disney and those associated with the show. New York Daily News stated, “Producers and Disney have reviewed the episode with the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation. Afterward, they rewrote and re-edited several scenes.”

The end result is an episode featuring Mitchel Musso (Oliver) that centers around news he has been diagnosed with Type 1 diabetes. His friends Hannah (Cyrus) and Lily (Emily Osment) work to both take in the news and then help their friend cope with the changes he will experience.

Nick Jonas (who actually does live with Type 1 diabetes) has been a guest on the show before and was originally scheduled to appear in spots related to the disease to air in the original showing.

In a letter to viewers Disney said, “We sincerely hope you will find that this revised story more accurately incorporates the subject of living with Type 1 diabetes, with the theme of the character Oliver learning to rely on his friends for support, no matter what challenges may arise.”

Diabetics can celebrate this news on two fronts. The first is that Disney took the issue seriously enough to do their best to get it right. Secondly there will be an incredible fan base that may learn something about this disease in a way classroom instruction could never do.

Disney should be applauded for seeking to bring this issue to the very audience that is most often diagnosed with the disease. You can bet the stars of the show have also learned something about the disease and Musso’s character is likely to be viewed in a new way by Type 1 diabetic fans of the show.

Where many shows work to incorporate politics into their presentation it is refreshing to see a complex disease that affects many young people given some much needed air time. It really does appear that Disney has taken corporate responsibility in developing this episode and then working through any issues required to ensure quality in content and believability in delivery.

No matter what the original intent was in creating the episode there are always going to be detractors. Some critics suggest that the best vehicle for a message on Type 1 diabetes is the newer series, Jonas. Since singer and actor Nick Jonas actually does live with the disease it is argued that he would be the best character to bring the subject to Disney viewers. I suppose the other side of the argument might be that there is a much larger fan base for Hannah Montana than Jonas. No matter how you may argue the point it is still a brave accomplishment in seeking to bring some understanding of the issue of Type 1 diabetes to fans of the program.

The original airing of “Uptight (Oliver is alright)” is scheduled for September 20th. Check local listings for show times.

A Hole-in-One Draws Attention to Diabetes: Their goal is to, “To improve the quality of life for people with or affected by diabetes, and to reduce complications and suffering related to the disease by providing high quality care and equipping the patient with the latest self-management tools through education.”

Who are they?

The Utah Diabetes Center (UDC).

How do they reach that goal?

Through golfing.

Well, not entirely, but a recent golf tournament does help them reach their goals by raising both support and awareness of the difficulties diabetics face.

In describing what they do the UDC states, “Our staff [provides] the best possible care, education, and resources for people with diabetes. These services are offered to caregivers of people with diabetes, and other healthcare professionals, to lessen the suffering that is caused by diabetes. Our expert researchers continue to work hard to find a cure for diabetes.”

One branch of the UDC is the “Treasure Chest Fund”. This was designed to provide, “Support for diabetes health care and education for those in need.”

This is where golf enters the picture. On September 15th at Red Ledges Golf Course in Heber City, Utah golfers gathered under the show of red cliffs to raise money for diabetes research and support through the UDC.

Among those stepping onto the greens that Tuesday morning was Jason Hargett, a local steakhouse manager. Like others he had been enjoying the morning and the beauty of the course. There had been talk about a hole-in-one prize of a million dollars, but Hargett had only hit a hole-in-one once in his life.

CBSNews.com indicated, “Six players who hit the ball closest to the hole on a par-3 were invited to participate in the hole-in-one contest. Hargett, who hit second, got a hole-in-one 150 yards away with a nine-iron.”

Hargett told CBSNews that he felt no pressure to make the shot, but having a crowd watch was difficult.

Hargett’s wife Amyee wasn’t sure what to believe when he called. “He told me that he had a chance, that he had a shot at winning a million dollars, so when he sent [at text message], I’m like, ‘He won.’ And I sent him a text message back to make sure it was true, and he didn’t respond, and I called him back and I heard all the people in the background screaming and yelling, and so then I knew that it was legitimate.”

Hargett isn’t sure that being a million dollars richer will change his life significantly. The payout is over 40 years so the $25,000 he received annually will be a nice bonus to his managerial paycheck.

Interestingly it has been reported that Hargett almost didn’t play. He use borrowed clubs and played with a sore wrist.

In the end this jackpot now serves and way to point people back to the original mission of the tournament – diabetes.

And the UDC is there to provide details individuals might need. Consider these facts…

• In 2007, the five countries with the largest numbers of people with diabetes are India (40.9 million), China (39.8 million), the United States (20.8 million), Russia (9.6 million) and Germany (7.4 million).
• By 2025, the largest increases in diabetes prevalence will take place in developing countries.
• Each year a further 7 million people develop diabetes.
• Every 10 seconds two people develop diabetes.
  (Source: www.healthcare.utah.edu)

Service Dogs for Diabetes: We’ve all seen service dogs that allow the blind and deaf to enjoy some normalcy in their lives. Now service dogs are being trained to help those with Type 1 diabetes determine when their blood sugars are either too high or too low.

According to King5.com 14 year-old Liam Kelly has a service dog named Max that has been able to accurately point Liam to use his blood glucose meter. “I personally won’t know where I’m at but someone I can rely on and trust will know,” Kelly told King5.

In a recent demonstration of how Max can detect blood sugar changes in Liam’s breath the dog was also able to correctly identify problems with audience member Ken Running who also lives with Type 1 diabetes. Running has been looking for an answer because he hasn’t been satisfied with the testing equipment he’s tried to date. Running told King5, “I’ve had extreme low blood sugars and I can’t detect them at all, to the point in the last four months, I’ve been in a coma three times and the hospital once.”

Liam’s mom, Lisa seems very pleased with the addition of the black lab to their family, “It allows me to be a mom instead of diabetes sheriff. I can sit back and not nag, ‘What’s your number? What did you do? What are you eating?”

Liam is alerted to issues when Max places his paw on his owner’s chest. When this happens Liam knows he needs to test – and take action.

The training Max received was from Ron Pace at the Canyon Crest K9 Training Center in Washington state.

According to the NewsTribune, “Using actions and rewards, the Paces taught Max to alert Kelly when his blood-sugar levels were too high (above 180 milligrams per deciliter) or too low (80 milligram per deciliter.)

“Knowing his blood-sugar level and keeping it close to normal helps Kelly prevent long-term physical complications that come with Type 1 diabetes, a disease that can’t be reversed.”

Lisa Kelly told NewsTribune that Max has, “Literally saved Liam’s life and allowed him to feel he can participate in sports or anything he wants. After football camp, Max was alerting four or five times a day. Liam thought he was fine, but the dog knew otherwise.”

Lisa and her husband, Michael, “Knew nothing about diabetes service dogs until she attended a conference on children with diabetes and met a woman with a dog who responded to her blood-sugar levels. She was convinced such a dog would give her son the healthiest life possible,” according to NewsTribune.

The couple still gets up 2-3 times a night to check on Liam, but Max catches most of the trouble Liam might encounter due to his Type 1 diabetes.

It is estimated that around 100 diabetes service dogs exist in the U.S. and there are very few trainers who specialize in this type of need.

Lisa Kelly went outside the box for Max’s training. She turned to Ron Pace who had been a dog trainer for thirty years. With the help of family (and completely donating his time) Pace was able to get Max to key in on glucose changes within 30 days.

Like most service dogs Max is on the job when he’s with Liam. Friends have had to learn to ignore Max so he can keep his senses focused on his owner’s glucose changes. Liam tells the NewsTribute he hopes to graduate from high school with Max.

Kondrake Calls For a Diabetic War: Morton Kondrake is quoted as saying, “One’s dignity may be assaulted, vandalized and cruelly mocked, but it cannot be taken away unless it is surrendered.” So when he recently took on the subject of diabetes we paid attention to a man who seems to understand the concept of dignity.

Kondrake is a journalist and writer for the non-partisan Capitol Hill newspaper, “Roll Call”. His recent piece was entitled, “Kondracke: Declare war on diabetes”.

Here are some highlights.

“The reason for a war on diabetes is that, like some cancers, Type 2 diabetes – the most prevalent type – is heavily a “lifestyle disease” resulting from overeating and lack of activity. Therefore, it’s preventable.”

“Diabetes can result in ghastly consequences for its 24 million victims, including heart disease, stroke, blindness, kidney failure, amputations and nervous system disease, and it is hugely expensive to the economy.”

“Nineteen different federal agencies spent only $3.9 billion on disease-prevention or health-promotion activities with some impact on diabetes.”

“If a ‘war on diabetes’ were declared, it ought to begin with a war on obesity, the epidemic most responsible for rising incidence of Type 2 diabetes among both adults and, increasingly, children.”

“Fighting obesity ought to be a major focus of health care reform.”

“Obesity costs – as much as 27 percent of recent increases in national health spending, according to health analyst Kenneth Thorpe.”

“There’s a need for better diabetes screening in government health programs. Medicaid and Medicare ought to adopt the kind of intensive disease-management techniques that many insurance plans employ.”

“The Congressional Budget Office estimates costs and savings only within a 10-year ‘window,’ whereas chronic-disease management probably would show results over a longer period.”

“A new study in the journal Health Affairs estimated that what amounts to a ‘war’ on diabetes, costing $800 million a year, would merely pay for itself over 25 years, not cut the actual costs to the government.”

“Such a war surely would prevent many strokes, heart attacks, leg amputations and kidney failures. It’s hard to believe that wouldn’t save money, too.”

Kondrake is an advocate of providing some rather graphic video footage of what some diabetics may experience in an effort to shock teens into making better choices in food and lifestyle.

The ‘war’ on diabetes must always come back to one fighter – the individual. Kondrake’s comments seemed especially targeted at preventable Type 2 diabetes and not Type 1 where development is not contingent on lifestyle choices.

Most health professionals would welcome extra funding to help in educational endeavors as well as prevention techniques and mentoring. Kondrake indicates a strong inclination that the government itself makes some beneficial advances more difficult. He cites testing equipment specifically. In Asian countries for example there is testing equipment that can be used to wirelessly send data to a computer for tracking. Such devices would need approval from the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) every time the device is altered for technological reasons in the U.S.

The battle for funding continues for organizations that have waged their own war on diabetes. The good news is that as you read through this site you will discover a multitude of new studies offering promise and hope. You will read of individuals who have managed their own personal battles and are holding the line. While there is hope that more help will come, the responsibility for our health often rests squarely with us. So, we keep working to provide information you can use to fight. Together perhaps we will one day win.

Amazing Grace: The Young and the Hopeful: When the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation (JDRF) in Kansas needs lobbying help from someone living with Type 1 diabetes there is one name that always seems to come up – Grace Chisholm.

This summer she joined other diabetics in lobbying President Obama for more funds to help in the fight against diabetes. But Grace seems almost tireless in her drive to help however she can.

Grace seems to be well known in her home state of Kansas. In fact JDRF-KC Executive Director Yvonne Miller told Fox4KC.com, “We use Grace a lot. She is quite the advocate for diabetes research and education. I don’t know if I have anyone better than Grace to go out into the community and explain what we do as an organization.”

A video of Grace shows her talking with Congressman Dennis Moore in which she asks the congressman, “Promise to remember me?”

Grace is described as articulate and a “take charge” activist. She remains a Youth Ambassador for JDRF and has helped raise awareness for her disease. But Grace also is a very capable fundraiser. It is estimated that she has been directly linked to donations of over $50,000.

Former teacher Diane Thompson spoke of the way Grace manages her diabetes. She told Fox4KC.com, “She just had a handle on it, unlike most kids older than she is. [She does] everything she had to do every day to stay well — religiously, on her own and to a T. I attribute it to her intelligence and her personality.”

Grace checks her blood sugar 10-12 times a day and enlists the help of her two sisters in pushing for support for diabetes research. Grace will be taking part in a walk in October that is designed to help raise money for diabetes research. She is seen in the Fox video stuffing more than a hundred envelopes with information about her walk, and it’s a safe bet she expects recipients to participate in some way. That’s just Grace.

Her inspirational story was why Fox4KC named Grace Chisholm a recent Young Achiever. Did I mention she’s nine years old?

The walk she is working on is scheduled for October 10th in Kansas City, KS at The Legends. Grace tells potential donors, “Finding a cure for diabetes would mean the world to me. It would be the most amazing thing. I don’t even have the words. Life with diabetes is a struggle everyday. From managing my blood sugars to changing my insulin pump site, this disease is horrible and will never go away unless we keep fighting for a cure”.

As of this writing Grace was at about 30% of her $5,000 goal. If her past experience with lobbying is any indication she will meet and likely exceed that goal.

Grace’s fund raising letter also states, “While Grace does most of the things other kids do, she can never relax. Every bite of food, physical activity, illness, stress and hormones require Grace to think about her diabetes and attempt to control her blood sugars. There is no vacation from this disease.”

Type 1 diabetics are well acquainted with the struggle Grace faces every day. Like Grace, other Type 1 diabetics are pushing to find ways to work together for a cure.

Grace mentions in her note one more compelling fact, “While we understand the economy is down, diabetes has not slowed down.”

And the drive shown by Grace every day has JDRF-KC Executive Director Yvonne Miller telling Fox4KC.com, “I don’t think they say no to her.”

Interior Schools Reach Out to Slow Diabetes: In response to the prevalence of diabetes and obesity among Native Americans a combined effort between former All-American football standout and Rhodes scholar Myron Rolle and the U.S. Government is leading to a high specific program developed for American Indian schools.

Secretary of the Interior Ken Salazar discussed the program with Native American Times, “Our objective in this initiative is to inspire American Indian and Native Alaskan students to live healthier lifestyles through exercise, outdoor activity, and proper nutrition. The program developed by the Myron Rolle Foundation will celebrate the uniqueness of their heritage and identity in curriculum, develop trust amongst peers, train leaders and involve the community to ensure their needs are met.”

Assistant Secretary-Indian Affairs Larry Echo Hawk called the initiative “innovative” and claimed, “Children and their families [are encouraged] to incorporate physical fitness and healthy choices into their daily lives.”

The new program aimed at middle school students is called One Way to Health and is being implemented in five Interior run Indian schools in New Mexico and Arizona.

Myron Rolle told Native American Times, “I am inspired by the way American Indian tribes have persevered and thrived, while retaining their cultural heritage and identity. There are, however, significant health concerns that challenge this population — in particular diabetes and obesity.  Through the Our Way to Health Program, our goal is to encourage and help American Indian children in middle school to begin managing not only their own diet and exercise but, hopefully by extension, influence the adults in their lives to also begin adopting healthy life style changes.”

Native American Times discussed the origins of the program by saying, “One Way to Health provides incentive-based learning experiences, team-building physical activities in the outdoors, health education and diabetes awareness sessions. Rolle initially developed the curriculum for American Indian fifth-graders at a charter school in Okeechobee, Florida, when he was working with the Seminole Tribe.”

If the program is successful in the New Mexico and Arizona schools it has the potential of expanding. The program is not a one-size-fits-all proposition either. The program allows for variations between schools to best reach the student base that will be engaged in what it offers. Rolle plans to visit each school twice and participants who successfully complete the program will be taken to either an NFL or collegiate football game.

The Native American Times report indicates, “Interior’s Bureau of Indian Education serves 42,000 students in 183 schools and dormitories across the country on 64 reservations in 23 states.”

This isn’t the only health gesture offered by Myron Rolle. His family came from the Bahamas and he is working to give back to those living there. ESPN reported, “Myron Rolle and his family… announced plans to build the Myron L. Rolle Medical Clinic and Sports Complex, in Steventon, Exuma in the Bahamas.”

Rolle told ESPN, “It’s really pertinent, because the people of Exuma, if there is something really serious happening to them, medically, at night especially, and they have to catch a flight to Nassau, the main island, it’s very inconvenient, and a lot of people can’t afford that flight.” This medical and sports complex is expected to be operational by 2012.

It is expected that Rolle will enter the NFL draft in 2010 after completing a master’s degree program in England, but Rolle continues to make an impact even before he accepts a new jersey.