A K LEO T H E
V O I C E
Ser v i ng t he st udents of t he Un iversit y of Hawa i ‘ i at M ā noa si nce 1922
Food stamp follies SNAP for sustenance Opinions 6
Wahine softball Facing future Sports 11
W E DN E S DAY, NOV. 3 to T H U R S DAY, NOV. 4 , 2 010
w w w. k a leo.org
Volu me 105 Issue 42
Awareness Month, reminder of the dangers of diabetes DANIEL JACKSON Staff Reporter
S U N DAY, O C T. 31 A driver for “The Cab” taxi company reported that a male he picked up at Club Asylum and drove to Hale Mānoa requested to retrieve the $16 fare from his room but never returned to pay for services. A Hale Noelani resident reported that her boyfriend’s cousin had left his hookah in her room. The hookah was confiscated.
SAT U R DAY, OC T. 30 A student reported his backpack, valued at $60, stolen from outside Webster Hall. F R I DAY, O C T. 29 A Hale Noelani resident reported a navy blue and black moped with a chrome engine stolen from the dorm bike rack. T H U R S DAY, O C T. 28 The driver of a 2005 Acura was cited for displaying an altered parking permit. She defended herself stating that “it was just one of those days,” according to the report. Early Thursday morning, a Hale Wainani resident reported that after being dropped off at the loading area, a group of males approached her friend’s car and began shouting racist insults and threatening to break a bottle over someone’s head. The group, instead, broke off a rear view mirror from the car and fled. See CampusBeat, next page
NIK SEU / KA LEO O HAWAI‘I
People with type 2 diabetes are often unaware of its presence. H ARLEY DIVEN Contributing Writer In Hawaiʻi alone, 28,000 people wake up each day and drink their morning coffee, unaware that today they could potentially be a killer’s next victim. The killer’s name is diabetes. Of 113,000 diabetics in Hawaiʻi, at least 28,000 are undiagnosed, according to a fact sheet released by the American Diabetes Association (ADA) Hawaiʻi. With complications like heart disease, eye disease and blindness, amputations, kidney disease, coma, and even death, cases of undiagnosed diabetes are ticking time-bombs just waiting to blow. November marks the beginning of American Diabetes Awareness month, a reminder
from the A DA to take action against the disease.
T YPES OF DIABETES Diabetes occurs when there is not enough insulin production in the body or when the insulin hormone is not working properly. Normally, the role of insulin in the human body is to aid cells in getting glucose from the blood. In type 1 diabetes, which accounts for about 5 to 10 percent of all diabetes cases, the pancreas does not produce insulin. These people must be injected with insulin or have insulin pumped into them through a catheter inserted into their abdomen, according to the Mayo Clinic website. On the other hand, if the pancreas produces insulin but
it is not enough, or not working properly, it is classified as type 2 diabetes. In either case, a lack of insulin intervention allows the blood glucose levels to rise to excessive levels resulting in potentially deadly consequences. While there are symptoms of diabetes, such as excessive thirst and urination, weight loss, and tingling in the extremities, a lot of times the symptoms are completely overlooked. “Most people I talk to say you can’t really tell (when your blood glucose levels are high),” said Dr. Anne Shovic, a professor in the Food Science and Nutrition Department at UH Mānoa. For diagnoses, the Fasting Blood Glucose test is most commonly administered. The patient fasts overnight
and their blood glucose levels are then measured. Less than 100 mg/dl puts you in the clear, but above 125 mg/dl is a red alert for diabetes, as indicated by the ADA’s website. Slightly higher blood glucose levels, between 101-124 mg/dl, is referred to as prediabetes, Impaired Fasting Glucose (IFG), or Impaired Glucose Tolerance (IGT), according to the ADA. In 1999-2000, seven percent of those aged 12-19 in the U.S. had IFG and 25.9 percent of those over the age of 20 had IFG in 2003-2006, states the Center for Disease Control’s website. Considering the melting pot of ethnicities here at UHM, these particular statistics from A DA Hawai‘i are not to be taken lightly: Native Hawaiians are most at risk for developing diabetes and have the highest mortality rates. There are currently 20,000 Native Hawaiians living with diabetes in the state of Hawai‘i. Additionally, those of Filipino or Japanese ethnicities are at an elevated risk, followed by A frican Americans and Hispanics. Obesity holds a huge link to diabetes as well. In fact, nine of 10 adults in Hawai‘i who are diagnosed with type 2 diabetes are overweight, reports the ADA Hawai‘i Fact Sheet. Simply put, a fat cell has more surface area than a non-fat cell, and the insulin receptors are presented with the diffi cult task of covering that extra surface area, rendering them less effective. “It ’s been shown over and over that diabetes follows obe sity,” said Shovic. Moreover, the burden lies not only on Hawaiʻi’s health, but on our wallets. Approximately $964 million are spent yearly on health care due to diabetes. See Diabetes, next page