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    Maria Goes To Washington

    Posted by STAFF June 20 at 12:02 PM | Comments (5)

  • by Maria Menounos

    My experience here on Capitol Hill has been positive, overall, but overwhelming for sure. I’ve never had to do anything like this. Politics is an altogether different beast than reporting so I was quite nervous but excited to be part of the day. It was encouraging to see so many people invested in the issue of diabetes, particularly for someone who has been affected by the disease firsthand as I have been, with my Dad being Type 1.

    There were several things I needed to accomplish with regards to the disease during my trip to Washington and through my meetings on Capitol Hill. We need to change the way people think and act when it comes to diabetes. We need to take this disease seriously, get tested and be on the lookout for symptoms. Physicians need to be as educated as possible about the disease and the newest methods and techniques to treat and better manage it. And from a government standpoint, we need to shift from just treating diabetes to preventing it. The good news is that we weren’t out there asking for more money. We already spend $80 billion dollars annually on treatment for diabetes; we just need to spend more of those dollars on prevention. If we just really enhance the interdepartmental coordination we can apply our resources better and lower the risks, complications and even occurrences. Type 2 diabetes is largely preventable, and by better educating people on Type 2 diabetes we can lessen the risk and complications of it, and thereby lessen the healthcare costs of treating it.


    I began my day having breakfast with and speaking to members of the Congressional Diabetes Caucus and select lobbyists and congressmen and women. Together we conferred on the previously mentioned needs through personal conversations and speeches. When I gave my speech, I ended up breaking down to tears. It is just so difficult for me to talk about the disease. I can’t help but think of all the times that my father literally died and was revived due to low blood sugar comas.

    My entire life was dedicated to maintaining a 24 hour watch over him - and not always successfully. I feel so badly for other families who are forced to endure and suffer through similar trials. Anyhow, I made it through my speech and was a little embarrassed over showing such emotion but hopefully I made my point.

    Diabetes is something we really need to worry about as a nation. More than 20 million people have diabetes - 6 million are walking around with it unknowingly. Type 2 is the most prevalent with 90 percent of people suffering from it and yet it is largely preventable. People need to get screened and they need to take the necessary steps now to avoid it. Diabetes is an awful reality for far too many people and its a huge burden for our healthcare system. We could alleviate the health care costs and thus have a healthier country with early prevention and proper attention to diet and exercise. 1 in 3 kids born today will have diabetes. The number of diabetes sufferers is expected to double by 2025. We need to act now. We need to change.

    From breakfast, I was off to engage in a full day of meetings with various senators and representatives to hammer these points home. By the last meeting and by the day’s end, I believe we made great strides in getting Washngton to more effectively treat diabetes. I am so thankful to Novo Nordisk for arranging the events of the day and for putting so much towards this cause and for EIF, the Entertainment Industry Foundation, for selecting me as to be their diabetes awareness ambassador and for all their efforts toward various causes. I hope I can do even more in the future.

    For more information, visit DiabetesAware.com

Comments

You did a great job, Maria, and I have a feeling round 2 will be here before you know it. There's so much to do!

Posted by: Chris | June 23, 2007 12:39 AM

After recently being diagnosed with Diabetes, I am learning from you. A big part of my plan to overcome this is to exercise more. I watched you on yesterday's show and you had your workout that you did to shed the pounds, and I got most of it. Could you share this with me?

Posted by: Shauna | July 7, 2007 03:56 PM

We just found out in April my 5 yr old has Type 1, it's a huge change. My father has Type 2 and that was difficult when we were kids not having any sugar foods in the house but we were healthy growing up. Since then I now need to lose 40lbs, I know what is in store for me if I can't get rid of this weight. I watched your show this weekend about how you lost your weight, can you tell me-did you exercise every day like that? I would be interested to hear more on how you did it! It does inspire the rest of us to know it's possible.

Posted by: Danielle | July 9, 2007 08:31 PM

I just watched an episode where you said that you hired a personal trainer for one day and he gave you a work out plan, I was wondering if you can share that with me. I would love to incorporate that with the other exercise I am doing.

Posted by: Christina | August 6, 2007 02:40 AM

Maria, I am so proud of the work you are doing for diabetes research and awareness-and I know your family is too!

Posted by: Deirdre | August 17, 2007 04:12 PM


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