SAN ANTONIO – Children at risk for Type 2 diabetes attended a summer camp to help them learn ways to avoid developing diabetes.
Project Power uses fun activities, field trips and wellness education to help kids learn ways to live a healthy lifestyle and beat the odds of a diabetes diagnosis.
"One in three children in San Antonio is overweight or obese, a major risk factor for Type 2 diabetes," said Dr. Nila Escaname, Project Power medical director and a pediatric endocrinologist with the Texas Diabetes Institute. "With the prediction that one in three adults in the U.S. will have diabetes by 2050, it is imperative that we invest in preventing Type 2 diabetes in our children."
Participants are children ages 10 to 14 with obesity and a family history of Type 2 diabetes.
"We really wanted to help children and their families to recognize at an early age how to manage risk factors," said Kristina Reyes, Project Power camp director with the ADA. "If we can give more children the tools and inspiration early on, they will be better equipped to avoid health consequences in adulthood and live longer, healthier lives."
This is the fifth year the Project Power has been held and is presented by The American Diabetes Association of San Antonio and the Texas Diabetes Institute.