More minority kids getting adult-type diabetes TUCSON, Ariz. (AP) - Marco Melgar, an 11-year-old sixth-grader, has friends with diabetes, but he's looking forward to a lifetime without the deadly disease. The Tucson boy has learned that exercise and good nutrition will help him avoid becoming a statistic. In Pima County, thousands of Hispanic and American Indian adults struggle with obesity and the challenges of type 2 diabetes. Hispanics, blacks and American Indians have higher rates of diabetes than whites. Because of an upswing in the numbers of overweight minority children, more of them are being diagnosed with adult-type diabetes. It's estimated that at least 40,000 American children now have type 2 diabetes, the type associated with adult obesity. Born genetically programmed to store fat during times of famine, many overweight Hispanics, Indians and blacks develop symptoms of diabetes from a regular diet of low-cost, high-calorie fast food and sodas, coupled with little daily physical activity. Without changing their diet and activity level, some minority children could spend their lives injecting insulin several times a day or attached to an insulin pump with a needle beneath their skin to regulate blood glucose. Some could die prematurely from the complications of diabetes _ kidney failure and heart disease. Challenger Middle School in Sunnyside Unified School District screens its children for diabetes. Parents in the predominantly Hispanic south side area are told when a child needs to see a doctor to be tested for diabetes, and the family is referred to publicly funded health clinics. A free weekly diabetes prevention program aimed at this ``medically underserved'' minority population is helping teach some of the children how they can try to prevent the onset of diabetes. ``Defeating Diabetes Through Dance and Diet'' began last spring as a project of the University of Arizona's Center for Health Equality and UA's Mel and Enid Zuckerman College of Public Health. Challenger School counselors Sagrario Espinosa and Maritza Garlant-Molin coordinated the program with Ada Dieke, 26, a UA masters in public health fellow, who designed and ran it. After UA funding ran out earlier this month, Girl Scouts of America stepped in with funding to keep the program going. The free after-school program offers an hour of dance twice a month and an hour of instruction twice a month on healthful meals and tips about diabetes. Nathaniel Bolivar, 12, a seventh-grader at Challenger, said he took the class because he's at risk for diabetes. ``I just wanted to learn more so you won't get it, and I can help my tata (grandfather) with it. He gets insulin shots,'' Nathaniel said. Dieke chose hip-hop for the exercise part of the program to get the kids really moving. Kaleshia Andrews, 11, a sixth-grader, said she's ``been wanting to learn about diabetes so I know.'' ``My mom (a diabetic) has a machine at home,'' she said. ``I eat a lot of vegetables, but my sister likes hot Cheetos.'' Dr. Kurt J. Griffin, a UA assistant professor of pediatrics and a pediatric endocrinologist with University Physicians Healthcare, said he sees more preadolescents with adult-type diabetes, which usually doesn't occur until after age 40.

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