Repulse Bay (Nov 22/04) - Dietitian Debbie Leach is doing her part to prevent diabetes among Kivalliq youth.

Leach is delivering diabetes education workshops in schools across the Kivalliq through Health Canada's Aboriginal Diabetes Initiative.

Leach, who is based out of Rankin Inlet, started her tour of the communities by talking to youth about healthy food choices at Tusarvik school in Repulse Bay this past month.

The dietitian takes a different approach with her message, depending on the age of the students she's addressing.

She told stories to the younger kids at Tusarvik because they don't really need to know all the science behind diabetes.

"I talked to them about prevention by using the Nunavut Food Guide to make healthier choices with their meals," says Leach.

"I got some of them to sort the different packages into the food groups and talk about why things like Cheetos aren't on the food guide.

"We also had them hopping around a bit, pretending to be animals, to remind them that it's good to be active every day."

Leach took a more serious approach in talking to the older students about the eating choices they make.

She used her time with them to discuss the benefits of making healthier choices with their diets.

"I only had about 30 minutes to spend with each group. If I had more time, we could have talked about the foods available for purchase in the school canteen and which ones aren't so good in helping us keep people at a healthy weight and not become obese."

Leach says the Repulse students seemed receptive to her message, although it's hard to gauge genuine interest in 30 minutes.

She also would have enjoyed spending more time with the teachers.

"I was able to provide some resources for when they hold the physical activity workshops in the Kivalliq through the Department of Education.

"And I left them my number so they can contact me if they'd like to follow up on some of the topics or ideas we discussed."