Res 0632-2018

By Council Members Barron, Miller, Cohen, Cumbo, Chin, Louis, Rose, Ampry-Samuel, Ayala and Rivera Whereas, Diabetes is a group of diseases that result in high blood glucose, which is too much sugar in the blood; and Whereas, The most common forms of diabetes include Type 2 diabetes, a chronic condition that affects the way the body processes blood sugar, and Type 1 diabetes, a chronic condition in which the pancreas produces little or no insulin; and Whereas, Prediabetes is a condition in which blood sugar is high, but not high enough to be Type 2 diabetes; and Whereas, According to the American Diabetes Association (ADA), in 2015, 30.3 million Americans, or 9.4% of the overall population, had diabetes and 84.1 million Americans age 18 and older had prediabetes; and Whereas, Additionally, more than 25% of Americans age 65 and older have diabetes and one in eight American adults, about 29 million, have Type 2 diabetes; and Whereas, According to the New York City Department of Health and Mental Hygiene (DOHMH), an estimated 987,000 City residents have diabetes, and 19% among them don't know they have it; and Whereas, DOHMH also estimates that 40% of elementary school children in New York City are overweight, which puts them at risk for diabetes; and Whereas, People with diabetes are two to four times more likely to develop cardiovascular disease than those without diabetes; and Whereas, Diabetes also increases the risk of other serious conditions, including nerve damage, known as neuropathy, as well as damage to kidneys, eyes, bones and feet, skin conditions, hearing impairment, Alzheimer's disease and depression; and Whereas, Further, diabetes remains the 7th leading cause of death in the United States, although the figure may be even higher as diabetes may be underreported as an underlying cause of death, according to the ADA; and Whereas, In addition, the ADA estimates that people with diabetes spend 2.3 times more on medical expenses than people without the disease; and Whereas, However, in many cases, prediabetes and diabetes are preventable or reversible; and Whereas, Preventive education can help reduce the risks for youth; and Whereas, Under New York State Law and the Regulations of the Commissioner of Education, all schools under the jurisdiction of the State Education Department must provide a program of health and physical education including health and safety education; and Whereas, However, neither the New York State Education Department (NYSED) nor the New York City Department of Education (DOE) currently explicitly requires instruction in diabetes or prediabetes or their prevention as part of the health education curriculum; and Whereas, The DOE recommended health curricula, called HealthSmart, does contain lessons on preventing serious health problems that result from common chronic diseases such as diabetes; and Whereas, However, these lessons do not begin until 5th grade and occur only in a few grades thereafter and it is unclear whether such lessons fully address diabetes or prediabetes; and Whereas, Further, the DOE recommends, but does not require, all schools to use the HealthSmart curricula, instead requiring schools that choose not to use the curricula to select a curricula meeting NYSED health education requirements; and Whereas, Protecting our children and youth from the damaging effects of diabetes and prediabetes is too important to leave up to chance; now, therefore, be it Resolved, That the Council of the City of New York calls on the New York City Department of Education to create a diabetes and prediabetes health based curriculum. LS# 4396 JA 11/20/18