The impact of race/ethnicity, health habits, and socioeconomic status on diabetes among children 12-17 years ol

Diabetes has been described as the new epidemic (Kaufman, 2002). According to the Centers for Disease Control (CDC; 2000), nearly 50% of African-American and Hispanic children will develop diabetes (Hironaka, Pihoker, 2004). Of these, approximately 85% of the diagnosed are overweight or obese at diagnosis American Diabetes Association (ADA; 2000). Further studies show that these children are more likely to develop a variety of chronic health problems. This study will observe the relationship between diabetes and race/ethnicity, health habits, and socio-economic status (SES). Secondary data was used for the quantitative study design. It utilized data from the California Health Interview Survey (CHIS; 2007). The independent variables for this study include race/ethnicity, health habits, and SES. Frequency and regression analysis were performed. The results found that all variables were risk factors for diabetes. Thus role of implementing policy that will include social workers, school officials, caretakers, health practitioners, and children is discussed.