Diabetes

Here's some thoughts/an essay on diabetes I wrote.

Obesity and diabetes have increased significantly in proportion in today’s society. These two diseases are not only very relevant to the average person, but also to me personally, since my grandma has recently been diagnosed with Type II diabetes. Obesity is the closest link to this type of diabetes, and according to the International Diabetes Foundation, there are an astounding 194 million people today living with the disease. At some point, each of us will inevitably come to know someone that is obese or has diabetes. Why, exactly, has diabetes become such an epidemic? How might my grandma have gotten her disease? Most importantly, what can we do to solve this ever-growing dilemma?

The answer to the first question is simple: we are simply not taking enough responsibility for our health. In today’s day and age of fast food and popular restaurant chains, our portion sizes are huge and filled with foods high in fat and cholesterol, thereby promoting obesity. Rather than going outside and playing sports, many kids in today’s modern, technological age opt to play computer games, watch TV, or chat online for recreation. At our own Parkside Café at USC, there is always a huge selection of desserts, and the large buffet-style entrees definitely foster large portion sizes. Is it any wonder, then, that the “freshman fifteen” exists? Adults also often don’t eat healthily or exercise, because their jobs demand a lot of their time. Exercising simply isn’t convenient. Fast food is the easy solution to grabbing a quick bite to eat, and after a long day of work, many people will opt to relax or simply go to sleep rather than working out.

Considering these points, it’s easy to see why my grandma was diagnosed with diabetes. She has always been an unhealthy eater, with foods such as doughnuts and Portuguese sausage being among her favorite things to eat. By consistently eating foods high in fat and sugar, she became overweight and put herself at high risk for diabetes. My grandma was also fairly inactive and didn’t exercise often, which additionally played a role in her getting the disease.

OBAMA!

It was amazing and rewarding for my very first voting experience to have played a part in such a historic election. Watching the election results and seeing Obama win swing state after swing state, followed by a very eloquent victory speech and seeing the thousands of inspired faces in the crowd, was almost surreal. I won't forget the moment where I was surrounded by friends and faculty sitting around the TV screen, when the results came up that Obama had won and the room erupted into cheers, hugging, laughter, and an overall feeling of relief and joy. It's amazing how this fellow Punahou graduate, Hawaii-raised, half black and half white future president has broken so many norms and traditions - I am SO ready for change, and also so grateful that there's finally someone in the White House that fully understands Hawaii's problems and circumstances (since I'm from Hawaii myself). Although Obama has such a huge task ahead of him, and probably will not fulfill all of his promises, simply the fact that a guy like him fought so hard and made it to the White House (or should I say the Black and White House...) is admirable and inspiring in itself - this is a great moment for African Americans as well. I know that people kept saying "this election is not about race -" but those people are ignorant to turn a blind eye to all the hardships that African Americans have had to go through in order to reach equality. Finally, they have come full circle and can feel liberated and inspired. Thank you, America, for voting for such an inspiring person full of promise, and thank you Obama for stepping up to probably the most difficult job in the world right now. I'm not sure what is going to happen to our economy, or if the war in Iraq will end soon, whether I'll be able to find a job when I graduate or whether I will be able to support my kids someday- but I feel assured knowing that there is someone sitting in our country's most coveted position that I can relate to, feel inspired listening to, and perfectly embodies a true American : mixed, brought up in a number of different places, hopeful, and determined to make his country a better place.

Assignment 4: Helpful and Insightful Sources

Here are the articles I found for assignment 4; hope that they help you guys!

Benjamin Amick, Larry Kessler, James Thompson. Factors Influencing the Diagnosis of Mental Disorder Among Primary Care Patients. Medical Care. January 1985, 50-61

Patrick Corrigan, Abigail Wassel. Understanding and Influencing the Stigma of Mental Illness. Journal of Psychosocial Nursing. Vol. 46 2008 43-48

Richard Carpiano, Sara Kuppin. Public Conceptions of Mental Illness and Substance Abuse, Their Causes and treatments: Findings from the 1996 General Social Survey. American Journal of Public health. 2006 96: 1766-1771

Katrien Libbrecht. Mental Health or Mental Healing? Society. Nov/Dec 1997, 20-23

Peter Byrne, Patrick Corrigan, Kristin Davis, Amy Watson. Mental Illness Stigma: Problem of Public Health or Social Justice? Social Work. Oct 2005