National Healthy Food Campaign Schools Secondary

'Tsunami' washes over Winnipeg high school

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At R.B. Russell Vocational High School, (from right), student Haydee Perez shows off her bean and pea seedlings and student Tamara Prince holds her basil crop with horticulture teacher Louise Shachtay in the school’s greenhouse. The school’s horticulture and culinary programs teach students about dealing with the growing menace of Type 2 diabetes through sustainable gardening and healthy eating choices. (WAYNE GLOWACKI / WINNIPEG FREE PRESS)

Even Bobby, the talkative "therapy parrot" mascot that makes its home in the school's first-of-its-kind horticulture classroom, paused his stream of chatter as if to hear the aboriginal woman's story.

"This school saved my life," said Tamara, a single mother of six who looks far younger than her 35 years and has returned to class as a mature student.

"My grandmother had it, my dad, my mom and my mom's brother. I'm not sure if I have it. I never thought about ever getting tested until I was here at school and heard about it. Now I'm much more aware."

Her topic: the soaring epidemic of Type 2 diabetes, a health crisis that will see a staggering 48 per cent increase in the number of Manitobans living with the potentially deadly disease by the end of this decade.

Tamara's school, R.B. Russell, launched a groundbreaking campaign in a bid to stem the looming "diabetes tsunami," fighting to help students not only keep their grades up, but hold their blood-sugar levels down.

At least 90 per cent of the 500 students at the high school are aboriginal, the group at highest risk of acquiring Type 2 diabetes, the most common form of the debilitating disease. It affects nine out of 10 Canadian diabetics.

Aboriginals don't comprise the bulk of Canada's diabetics, but they are the group being hammered the hardest. The disease can strike anyone, but First Nations people are three to five times more likely than the general population to develop Type 2 diabetes.

Genetic factors play a role, but advocacy groups insist aboriginals, whether in remote northern communities or in Winnipeg, are more susceptible because so many are mired in poverty and lack access to healthy food, recreation opportunities and medications needed to control blood glucose.

"Our teenagers are getting diagnosed with Type 2 diabetes," said Dina Bruyere, executive director of the Winnipeg-based National Aboriginal Diabetes Association. "Prior to the 1950s, this disease was virtually unheard of among aboriginal people... Fast-forward to 2011, and we're now seeing aboriginal children and youth being diagnosed with a disease that used to be mainly a problem for middle-aged people.

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In 1995, no state had an obesity rate above 20 percent, according to the Trust for America’s Health’s annual report, written in conjunction with the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation. Now, Colorado, with 19.8 percent of its adults considered obese, is the only state with an obesity rate below 20 percent. Colorado’s current obesity rate would have been the highest rate in 1995. The report’s one bright spot showed just sixteen states showing increases in their obesity rates, down from 28 states reporting increases last year. Levi said the increases have been gradually losing momentum, most likely due to greater public awareness of health issues and government attempts to give schools and shoppers better access to healthier foods. In Ames and Story County, educators, health care providers and other organizations have been working for years to buck the obesity trend. Greg Welk, director of clinical research and community outreach for Iowa State University’s Nutrition and Wellness Research Center, said the report that Iowa’s adult obesity rate jumped to 28.1 percent in 2010, up from 27.6 the year before, doesn’t surprise him. “It’s work in progress,” Shimp said. “We’ve seen a decrease in the number of meals served because some students choose not to eat the school lunches. We’re fortunate that Chartwells (the district’s food service contractor) consults with a regional dietitian and chef to work with the commodities available, to use fresh, local produce, and to keep refining the menus to make them as appealing as possible.” Story County programs promoting physical activity in schools have shown some success, however. Mary Greeley Medical Center’s Mileage Club, for example, an eight-week physical activity program for students in kindergarten through grade six, offers students prizes for the number of miles that they walk or run during recess under the supervision of parent volunteers. During the most recent school term, more than 3,230 students participated across Story County, spokesperson Valerie Post said. Of those students, 2,798 walked or ran at least five miles and 503 of them accomplished at least 25 miles.

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