I’m torn. Really seriously torn. I want to give these kids kudos. I want to congratulate them and wish them luck at the Grammies. I want to thank them for raising awareness about the dangers of sugars and how eating unhealthy can/will lead to obesity and other health issues.
The thing is – I can’t. I can’t congratulate them, wish them luck or thank them because of one of the last text slides after their video.
Hear is the info shared beneath the video on YouTube – (which you can only see if you expand the text by clicking “Show More”) HERE is the link to the video.
“In PUSHIN’ WEIGHT, directed by Jamie DeWolf, Simone Bridges makes the metaphorical connection between the Food Industry, High Sugar foods and the pushing of drugs on our streets. Youth Speaks and UCSF Center for Vulnerable Populations are leading the campaign against Type 2 Diabetes with our new project, The Bigger Picture. Raise your voice TODAY!”
The “Type 2 Diabetes” is not in bold in the text under the video – I altered the quote to raise a point. This is the only place the phrase “Type 2 Diabetes” is used.
I won’t even go into how wrong I think it is overall to be suggesting that Type 2 Diabetes is caused simply by unhealthy eating. There are other reasons Type 2 Diabetes happens too.
But I am a parent of 3 children with Type 1 Diabetes. My kids did not get diabetes because I pumped them full of sugar, corn syrup, bacon and fat. I fight often to educate people about how Type 1 Diabetes happens and first and foremost how it has nothing to do with what I fed my kids or what I ate while pregnant.
I am proud of these kids. I’m glad they created a PSA video. I just wish they didn’t include “Diabetes” in their slides or if they really felt it necessary – they could have listed Type 2 Diabetes as one of many health problems that can be caused by poor food choices.
How did I come to find this *gem of a video. An email I received from “The Daily Good”. I get daily emails from “Good” and most are worth the read/watch. I was excited at first when I saw the subject line of today’s email.
“Watch This Diabetes PSA – Could Probably Win a Rap Grammy”
Here is the text from the email I received which included a link to the video I shared above.
“Highlighting how today’s sugar consumption is similar to drug addiction, Youth Speaks and UCSF Center for Vulnerable Populations have teamed up with high schoolers to raise important questions about healthy food access with provocative PSAs about diabetes. Their campaign, The Bigger Picture, gives youth opportunities to not only show-off their creative skills, but also win educational scholarships.”
Click HERE to learn more about The Daily Good. Most the stuff I receive is *Good, today’s was an exception not a norm.
I do hope these kids receive educational scholarships. Their video is quite good. But still – it didn’t need to focus on diabetes – any kind. And honestly – for shame UCSF for not recognizing how this video could have a negative impact on how hard those of us in the Type 1 community (and all of the DOC) work to educate others.
I find it ironic that this is my first post of 2014 and follows behind my daughters guest post about the boy in her class that suggested he would get diabetes from eating too much sugar.
Happy friggen New Year.
Stick With It Sugar 
why do u call your page STICK WITH IT SUGAR?
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Jose –
My original blog was called Momof2t1s. Which stood for mom of 2 type 1s. it worked for a bit but try telling people that web address? it’s hard you have to say “mom of ‘the number 2’ ‘the letter t’ ‘the number 1’ ‘the letter s’.
Then the bigger problem with the old title – my third child was showing signs of developing type 1 diabetes. He was officially diagnosed after I had switched my blog name to “stick with it sugar”.
So back to your question – “sugar” is a common term of endearment which I would use often with my kids and friends. “Stick with it” is a common supportive phrase. A friend of mine on twitter was having a rough time of it (this was when I still used ‘momof2t1s’) and I sent a her a tweet that simply said “stick with it sugar”.
She liked the phrase and wrote it on a post-it and put it on her desk.
“Stick” is also in reference to what people with diabetes need to do multiple times a day to stay alive and healthy by checking their blood sugars and injecting insulin (either with an insulin pump or syringes). “Sugar” of course is what all carbohydrates turn into in the body and what can kill a pwd if it isn’t monitored daily and regulated with insulin “checking blood sugar”.
Thus “Stick with it sugar” is a play on words but also a supportive phrase.
When I was considering new names for my blog I had reached out to twitter friends – a different friend than the one I had sent the original tweet to suggested I use it as my blog title.
hope this explains it and thanks for visiting.
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