Diabetes is a chronic disease that has no cure. Nearly 24 million Americans are currently living with the disease. It is also the fifth-deadliest disease in the United States. In 2007 more than 70,000 people died in the U.S. from diabetes or diabetes related complications.
A growing concern today is the number of children and adolescents who are developing type 2 diabetes — a form of diabetes that was formerly diagnosed only among adults. One of the commonalities among many of the youth diagnosed with type 2 diabetes is that they are overweight or obese. As many as 80 percent of youth may be overweight at the time of their diagnosis.
This makes the need for diabetes prevention and intervention strategies in schools very important. The Stomp Out Diabetes Curriculum is structured to address specific nutrition and physical activity issues associated with diabetes.