
<DOC>
<DOCNO> SJMN91-06212161 </DOCNO>
<ACCESS> 06212161 </ACCESS>
<DESCRIPT>  DISEASE; MANAGEMENT; PROGRAM; AID; HISPANIC; MORGAN-HILL  </DESCRIPT>
<LEADPARA>  Hispanics, whose incidence of diabetes is two to three times as high as the
population of the United States as a whole, can learn how to manage the
illness at a free half-day clinic Saturday at St. Louise Health Center in
Morgan Hill.;    Heredity and diet appear to be the major reasons that 14 to
21 percent of Hispanics -- and up to 40 percent in the 64 to 75 age group --
contract diabetes, said Rochelle McNamara, executive director of the Diabetes
Society of Santa Clara Valley.  </LEADPARA>
<SECTION>  Local  </SECTION>
<HEADLINE>  HOW TO MANAGE DIABETES
FREE CLINIC FOR HISPANICS WILL FOCUS ON DIET,
EXERCISE, MEDICATION  </HEADLINE>
<TEXT>
About 7 percent of the general population has diabetes, McNamara said.;

Hispanics who have strong American Indian ancestry may be vulnerable to diabetes because about 50 percent of all Indians develop diabetes, McNamara said. Also, the high-fat diet of many Hispanics leads to obesity, which seems to trigger diabetes, McNamara said.;

Eighty percent of Hispanics over 40 who are diagnosed as diabetic are overweight, she said.;

The clinic Saturday will focus on three ways to manage diabetes -- diet, exercise and medication. Participants will learn that traditional dishes can be just as tasty -- but healthier -- when made with unsaturated fats, and that exercise will reduce weight, which in turn will lower the possibility of contracting diabetes.;

"There is no magic pill to cure diabetes. You have to manage your own diabetes, and we're teaching people how to take care of themselves," McNamara said.;

The hospital and the diabetes society are sponsoring neighborhood diabetes programs for Hispanics, which are taught by bilingual instructors.;

The programs, which first began in 1984, are aimed at people who speak only Spanish or people who are more comfortable receiving instruction in that language.;

"We found that the regular programs that we started years ago were not reaching the monolingual Spanish-speaker," McNamara said.;

IF YOU'RE INTERESTED; The diabetes management program for Hispanics will be from 9 a.m. to noon at St. Louise Health Center, 18500 St. Louise Drive, off Cochrane Road in Morgan Hill. Registration begins at 8:30 a.m. Further information is available from the Diabetes Society of Santa Clara Valley at (408) 287-3785..
</TEXT>
<BYLINE>  DALE RODEBAUGH, Mercury News Staff Writer  </BYLINE>
<COUNTRY>  USA  </COUNTRY>
<EDITION>  South County  </EDITION>
<CODE>  SJ  </CODE>
<NAME>  San Jose Mercury News  </NAME>
<PUBDATE>   910730  </PUBDATE> 
<DAY>  Tuesday  </DAY>
<MONTH>  July  </MONTH>
<PG.COL>  1B  </PG.COL>
<PUBYEAR>  1991  </PUBYEAR>
<REGION>  WEST  </REGION>
<STATE>  CA  </STATE>
<WORD.CT>  347  </WORD.CT>
<DATELINE>  Tuesday July 30, 1991
00212161,SJ1  </DATELINE>
<COPYRGHT>  Copyright 1991, San Jose Mercury News  </COPYRGHT>
<LIMLEN>  1  </LIMLEN>
<LANGUAGE>  ENG  </LANGUAGE>
</DOC>

