About 29.1 million people in the U.S. have diabetes. Of those, 8.1 million people are unaware that they have it, meaning that 27.8 percent of people with diabetes are undiagnosed and unaware of the damage that is being caused to their bodies. The Long Beach community has a high prevalence of diabetes – as high as 24 percent in some areas. On Nov. 1, Long Beach Memorial and Miller Children’s & Women’s Hospital Long Beach will join forces to educate the community on diabetes management and prevention to help bring awareness to this American epidemic.
The number of people diagnosed with diabetes in the U.S. has more than doubled in the past 15 years.This growth has been closely associated with the increased obesity rate. As many as 1 in 3 Americans could have diabetes by 2050 if current trends continue, according to an analysis from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Strategies to prevent diabetes are needed to slow the rise in diabetes across the U.S.
“Obesity is a major risk factor for Type 2 diabetes,” says Linda Kerr, DNP, RN, FNP-BC, CDE, director, Diabetes Program, Long Beach Memorial. “Our goal for our Diabetes Family Festival is to provide the community with the tools for diabetes prevention and healthy living with diabetes.”
The Diabetes Family Festival will offer a wealth of resources for members of the Long Beach community, with and without diabetes. In addition, the festival will include a car show with prizes, music, raffles, giveaways and activities for kids including face painting and crafts. Community members of all ages are encouraged to attend the festival to learn about diabetes prevention and management from experts at Long Beach Memorial and Miller Children’s.
“One of the most important aspects of managing diabetes is learning to make healthy nutrition and life style choices. To better serve our community, this event will feature adult and pediatric certified diabetes educators (CDEs) who will provide free health, nutrition and self-management information in both English and Spanish,” added Kerr.
MemorialCare programs participating in the event include the Diabetes Program at Long Beach Memorial, the Endocrine, Diabetes & Metabolic Center at Miller Children’s, the MemorialCare Senior Plus Program and the MemorialCare Heart & Vascular Institute, which will be providing free blood pressure screenings. Participating outside vendors include the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation (JDRF), the Pediatric-Adolescent Diabetes Research Education (PADRE) Foundation, Lilly, Novo Nordisk, Sanofi, Mini- Pharmacy, Soloara, Dexcom, Animas, OmniPod and many more.
The Diabetes Family Festival will take place on Sunday, Nov. 1 from 11 a.m. – 2 p.m. at 2888 Long Beach Blvd. Entry is free. For more information, call (562) 933-5043 or visit MemorialCare.org/DiabetesFest.