In the second semester of her senior year in high school, UW Senior Liz Schlender had no idea she would become a statistic.
\I was ready to go to college, have fun, get a degree,"" says the history major from Elk Grove, Ill.
But, just as Schlender was getting ready to enjoy the fruits of her high school labor, she found out she had diabetes.
""It was like, OK, what do I do now? This totally sucks!"" Schlender said when describing her scary discovery.
Diabetes, according to the American Diabetes Organization (http://www.diabetes.org), is a major health concern in the United States, since approximately 17 million people suffer from the disease.
Whenever students with diabetes enroll at UW, or if they discover diabetes while in Madison, David Mellinger of University Health Services steps in to help.
Mellinger describes diabetes as an insulin abnormality. Insulin allows sugar (the body's main source of energy) to get into cells, including the brain. It also stops the breakdown of fat, the body's secondary source of energy.
There are two main types of the disease. Type I diabetes, usually acquired at birth, results from an inability of the body to create any insulin at all. With Type II diabetes, the body produces insulin, but cells cannot use it correctly.
Although both forms of diabetes are serious and worthy of attention, health officials at the moment are most concerned about Type II.
""Type II incidence is going up dramatically"", says Mellinger. Although doctors and researchers have yet to find a direct cause for Type II diabetes, it is known that heredity and obesity play a large role in causing the disease.
Schlender, who has Type II, says both sides of her family have a history of diabetes. Schlender also admits her childhood eating habits were not entirely healthy. ""My family used to go out to eat all the time--McDonald's was a favorite spot.""
""I hated gym class, too,"" Schlender admits.
According to Mellinger, Schlender's case is not totally unique.
""Kids these days have a lifestyle that's a combination of over-eating and under-exercising,"" Mellinger says, ""and 24 percent of children under 18 are obese, not just overweight, but clinically obese.""
Even though the younger population is at a heightened risk for diabetes, Mellinger says college age students should take notice of the trend and monitor eating and drinking accordingly.
""Bad habits that you start now can set you up for obesity in the future and you can increase your lifetime risk for getting diabetes"" says Mellinger.
Although diabetes in and of itself is a manageable disease, if it goes unchecked, it can set the body up for a whole slew of side effects. Most serious are the complications it can cause in the circulatory system, sometimes requiring the amputation of entire limbs.
""It's a balancing act, always monitoring my diet and checking my glucose levels,"" Schlender says of her everyday ordeals with the disease.
Although she has the telltale fingertip calluses that come with checking her blood sugar three times a day, Schlender says, ""I don't want to think I'm different."" She certainly looks like a healthy college student, with a warm Midwestern smile and a flat Chicagoland accent, just like everybody else.
For diabetics, sugar intake must be monitored closely to prevent any insulin abnormalities.
Thanks to the help of good doctors and nutritionists, Schlender has learned to deal with her diabetes since her panic-stricken high school days. ""I used to hate diet pop, but I've learned to like it.""
Still, Schlender sees diabetes as a day-to-day struggle. ""I've been really lucky not to have any complications up to this point, but I guess I'll just wait and see what happens.""
For more information on diabetes, contact Dave Mellinger of University Health Services (dcmellin@facstaff.wisc.edu, 262-2948) or the American Diabetes Association (http://www.diabetes.org).
