The Cooperative Extension Program’s Project DEAP (Diabetes Education, Prevention, Awareness) hosted a diabetes health fair on Wednesday to inform students of the current diabetes based health risks attacking the community.
Project DEAP is an educational program aimed at educating and encouraging small communities and lower income families to adopt healthier eating practices to avoid diabetes.
The fair featured health brochures, free blood sugar screenings, games, food demonstrations, and orthopedic care aimed at educating students on the risks and consequences of diabetes.
“I knew that I wanted to have a fair on campus so that we could get students informed and tested,” said Carolyn Nobles, program leader for Family and Consumer Sciences.
Event coordinator Genevieve Ayers explained the necessity of health-related educational programs like Project DEAP on college campuses.
“A lot of students are uninterested because they don’t feel like they are at risk,” said Ayers. “If students are more aware of the risks, they would learn that anyone is at risk for diabetes, not just people who have diabetes in their family, or the elderly, or overweight.”
As research shows, it is possible to get diabetes without any family history, weight problems, or even excessive glucose intake. Raekiesha Yarbrough, a senior human nutrition and food major and fair volunteer, knows this information all too well.
“I have had Type 1 diabetes for about 11 years now,” said Yarbrough. “It isn’t hereditary; it came from a viral infection that caused my pancreas to stop producing insulin.”
The disparity of stereotypes also hits close to home for Ayers. “My daddy is a slim man, he has an active job, he works out, and he still has diabetes,” Ayers said.
Some students visiting the fair were encouraged to do so due to the condition of their family members or friends who have been affected by diabetes.
“My friend got diabetes when we were in elementary school,” said junior criminal justice major Tiffany Allen. “My uncle is in the hospital right now because of a reaction to some medication that reacted with his diabetes and made his blood sugar go up too high.”
Volunteers worked throughout the day offering information, and tips for diabetes prevention. Most expressed their satisfaction with the outcome of the fair. “It seemed like we informed those who wanted to be informed,” said senior human nutrition and food major Kaydra Scott.
Closing her sentiments, Ayers said of the final outcome, “it took a lot of work to get the fair together, but I am glad it all came together in the end.”