[Congressional Record Volume 149, Number 82 (Thursday, June 5, 2003)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E1136]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                                DIABETES

                                 ______
                                 

                             HON. JOE BACA

                             of california

                    in the house of representatives

                        Wednesday, June 4, 2003

  Mr. BACA. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to voice my concerns about the 
effect that Diabetes is having on the Latino Community.
  Right now, 16 million people in the United States are suffering with 
Type 2 Diabetes. About 3 million of them are Latinos. Due to diet and 
genetics, Latinos are twice as likely as the rest of the population to 
contract Type 2 Diabetes. I am horrified by the statistic that one in 
ten Latinos will contract Diabetes at some point in life, but I am even 
more horrified by the fact that most often the disease is preventable.
  Both of my parents died from complications related to Diabetes. As 
the parents of 15 children, I believe that they didn't have the time or 
the resources to adequately care for themselves. With all of those 
mouths to feed, I believe that they were too busy trying to simply put 
food on the table to worry about proper nutrition. While that is 
undoubtedly noble, stories like this must change. My parents, because 
they did not have the proper care, suffered loss of vision, 
amputations, and eventually death.
  We must make sure that Latino families are educated about prevention 
and have the resources to combat the disease. Prevention is key to 
fighting this disease but we cannot ignore the fact that eleven million 
Latinos still lack health insurance. How can a person get tested for 
Diabetes when they are uninsured? How can a person seek out a doctor 
when they can't even pay for the visit? This is something Congress must 
fight to change.
  If we want to combat Diabetes, we must focus on prevention, 
education, and cultural changes. No one is saying that as a culture we 
can't enjoy our frijoles and tortillas. We simply must learn and teach 
our children, that moderation is the best approach.
  We must educate our communities. We must spread the word about 
prevention. And we must help the uninsured. If we do not make these 
necessary changes, we won't have to worry about one in ten Latinos 
having Diabetes, we will have to worry about one in five.

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