| Description |
The rate of type 2 diabetes has increased over the last several decades affecting over 451 million adults globally. In the United States, increased rates of type 2 diabetes have been well documented in the adolescent population. These rates parallel the rates of obesity which is a risk factor for diabetes. In Utah, the rates of type 2 diabetes in adolescents have not been documented, however, the rates of obesity rose by 6.5% over the last two decades. This suggests adolescents in Utah are at risk for type 2 Diabetes. Studies show adolescents have limited knowledge about diabetes, the risk factors, and health consequences. Adolescent diabetes prevention interventions are developed and implemented to increase knowledge about diabetes and try to build self-efficacy in living a healthy lifestyle. The interventions generally target urban adolescents who are overweight or obese, and prediabetic or diabetic. However, they are not often successful in producing short or long term behavior change. In this study, we compare and contrast focus group responses from a volunteer sample of rural and urban high school students on what they know about diabetes, how easy or hard it is to eat healthy and be active, how their school promotes healthy behaviors, and explore ideas that would encourage participation in a diabetes prevention initiative at their school. In conclusion, students in both rural and urban focus groups demonstrated diabetes knowledge, made healthy choices based on the expectations of their behavior, and preferred to engage in a diabetes intervention if it included their close peers and focused on broader issues. iv |
