Medical Team Tackles Diabetes In Impoverished Communities
PHILADELPHIA (CBS) -- Students at a school in North Philadelphia have a valuable lifestyle lesson designed to improve their health.
Like an itinerant preacher, Dr. Mark Schutta told middle school students at St. Martin de Porres Catholic school in Strawberry Mansion about the damage sugar and processed foods can do a sedentary body.
Schutta led a medical team from Penn Rodebaugh Diabetes Center in administering blood glucose screenings and enlightening the kids about twin epidemics that are sweeping the world, obesity and diabetes.
"The message is this is preventable illness, completely preventable," Schutta said. "We want to see the number of diabetics, we want to see the number of diabetics go down. So we have to start in communities where kids are really vulnerable and really susceptible."
Poverty has been cited as one of the primary causes of diabetes and obesity. Schutta spoke to an attentive audience.
"Yes, with the new sense of if I don't eat good and be aware of my health this can affect me in the future."
He shared some helpful experience too.
"If I eat fast food my body will not function right, I'll probably get slower and get bigger and I don't need that to happen to me."
