[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 149 (2003), Part 21]
[House]
[Page 29076]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




          LOOMING DIABETES EPIDEMIC CAUSING HEALTHCARE CRISIS

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to the order of the House of 
January 7, 2003, the gentleman from New Mexico (Mr. Udall) is 
recognized during morning hour debates for 5 minutes.
  Mr. UDALL of New Mexico. Mr. Speaker, the headlines shout out: 
``Healthcare crisis looms.'' ``Diabetes epidemic.'' ``Increase in 
childhood obesity.'' Solutions abound, but the one which could make a 
real difference, prevention, is only paid lip service. We say ``an 
ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure,'' but then we fail to 
reinvent our health policy to make prevention a cornerstone.
  The facts are ominous, unrelenting and tell it all:
  An obesity epidemic started in the early 1980s and equally impacts 
all age groups. Nearly one in four Americans are obese. Obesity is 
highly predictive of diabetes.
  One in three children now being born in the United States ultimately 
will become diabetic.
  Diabetes incidence increased 61 percent in the last decade; 76 
percent for people in their thirties.
  An alarming British study reported one-third of 5-year-old girls were 
overweight and showing signs of developing Type II diabetes, formerly 
called adult onset diabetes.
  The Surgeon General in his December 2001 report left no doubt where 
we are headed. ``Left unabated, overweight and obesity may soon cause 
as much preventable disease and death as cigarette smoking.''
  The healthcare costs to deal with these trends are overwhelming and 
unaffordable. The National Institutes of Health has estimated that 
diabetes costs the United States close to $138 billion each year in 
direct and indirect costs. Let me repeat, $138 billion. We cannot 
afford to double, triple and quadruple these costs. Even if we could 
find the resources, would this be a wise expenditure of our finite 
healthcare dollars?
  Today we spend 95 percent of our healthcare dollars on treating 
chronic and acute illnesses, many of which could be prevented in the 
first place. In other cases we could at least delay the onset of 
disease for a number of years and provide a higher quality of life. The 
dollars we spend on prevention are minuscule, and we do not track the 
outcomes in a meaningful way.
  This Nation needs a new approach to healthcare, which puts prevention 
front and center. The key to prevention is personal responsibility and 
personal action. If people are given the facts and alternatives, they 
can take charge of their health.
  We are facing an epidemic of diabetes in New Mexico due to obesity 
and unhealthy lifestyles. Minority communities are disproportionately 
impacted. But there is hope in many of our communities, where 
individuals are taking charge of their health and their future.
  I was in the Navajo community of Thoreau recently and saw some 
dynamic seniors reshaping the health of their community. These Navajo 
seniors knew that decades ago, when the Navajo people were leading an 
active life and herding their sheep and livestock and eating 
traditional food, there was very little disease. They remember diabetes 
and other modern ailments were also unheard of in the Navajo 
population. So with the help of the Centers for Disease Control and the 
University of New Mexico Preventive Health Center, they designed a menu 
of healthy traditional foods.
  They call the regimen of regular exercise and healthier eating ``The 
Healthy Path.'' The seniors are teaching younger parents and their 
grandchildren the benefits of these healthier foods and how to begin 
The Healthy Path. Word has spread, and there are now a dozen healthy 
path initiatives ongoing in Navajo chapter houses.
  This is not rocket science. We know prevention works. We have the 
tests and screening to know when someone is pre-diabetic, on a path to 
diabetes. Doctors have known for years that regular exercise, weight 
loss and healthy diet will virtually eliminate Type II diabetes. Let us 
put this knowledge to work and create healthier individuals and 
communities.

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