SDSU Receives $3M to Study Obesity and Diabetes
The five-year National Instititutes of Health award will focus on the Latino community.
The World Health Organization estimates that by the year 2025, more than 300 million adults will have diabetes, and the Latino community is expected to be among the hardest hit.
Reducing risk through prevention
San Diego State University researchers will look for ways to reduce that risk through prevention and intervention programs thanks to a new $3 million award from the National Institute of Diabetes & Digestive & Kidney Diseases (NIDDK), part of the National Institutes of Health.
San Ysidro Health Center
The five-year study will test culturally and linguistically appropriate interventions to lower body mass index (BMI) and weight gain among 390 overweight 6 to 9-year-old Mexican-American children and their parents who are registered patients at San Ysidro Health Center. Obesity is one of the leading risk factors for diabetes.
The study, led by John Elder and Dr. Greg Talavera in SDSU’s Graduate School of Public Health, will collaborate with the Center for Latino Research and Health Promotion at San Ysidro Health Center.
“This grant represents a strong academic-community partnership to bring resources to those families with the highest need,” said Talavera, whose research has focused on border-region health issues and chronic disease among Latinos.
Global Diabetes Epidemic Symposium
Talavera is one of several speakers at SDSU’s Global Diabetes Epidemic Symposium on Thursday, April 29. The discussion will focus on the growing number of people with Type 2 diabetes here and most significantly in the developing world.
About NIDDK
The National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases (NIDDK) conducts and supports basic and clinical research on many of the most serious diseases affecting public health.
Diabetes: Global Health Epidemic Of The 21st Century - KPBS interview with SDSU Professor Tom Novotny
