Jennifer McPhee
Northern News Services

Iqaluit (Apr 01/02) - Nunavummiut need more information on the threat of diabetes in their own language, participants at a conference on diabetes heard recently in Iqaluit.

About 35 health-care and income-support workers and others living with diabetes, spent three days tackling the challenge posed by the disease.

Alice Isnor, former executive director of the Kitikmeot Health and Social Services Board, ran the workshop with funding from the Ottawa's Aboriginal Diabetes initiative.

Isnor has diabetes and believes many people don't realize that eating high-fat, energy-dense foods and not getting any exercise can lead to the disease. For those who don't read English, it's even harder to get the facts.

Conference attendees hope to change that, taking the word back home and coming up with proposals for community-based diabetes prevention programs.

"Diabetes is something very new to my community," said Sarah Qaqqaq, community health representative in Qikiqtarjuaq. "There's not a lot of understanding about it.

Qaqqaq pointed out that diabetes flyers and posters are still printed only in English, and "I have to do a lot of the translation myself."

She said the number of overweight people in her community is increasing. "With sudden lifestyle changes, we thought everything was good," she said. "A lot of Inuit are finding out there's bad things, too, that we have to be aware of like smoking, diet and exercise."

Carol Gregson, a health promotion specialist for the territorial Department of Health, said the government intends to get materials translated. She also hopes someone will submit a proposal to translate food labels.

A CD with information from the workshop will be passed on to communities.

About 1.5 per cent of Nunavummiut are living with diagnosed diabetes. However, many others likely have the disease and don't know it. And experts predict a drastic increase in rates among Inuit in coming decades because of a high smoking rate, changing diets and sedentary lifestyles.

In other aboriginal communities across Canada, diabetes is an epidemic.

Diabetes can lead to heart disease and blindness, among other afflictions. Genetics plays a role, but can be countered by a healthy diet and exercise.

The federal government gave Nunavut $500,000 for the 2001-02 year for diabetes programs.