November is National Diabetes Month, a disease that’s become pervasive in our society due in part to reduced levels of physical activity and increased levels of “bad” foods in our diets.  PBS LearningMedia offers many resources for teaching lifestyle changes to minimize diabetes from the earliest ages. 

An animated video segment, How Does Lifestyle Affect Diabetes, is adapted from the Eagle Books series produced by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.  In it, an American Indian boy named Rain That Dances meets Mr. Eagle, who is sad about the health of the people in the village. Mr. Eagle describes how hard work and physical activity used to be a way of life, making people strong and healthy, but now many people are sick with diabetes because of their new lifestyles. Rain That Dances learns how to prevent diabetes by eating healthy traditional foods and being more active, like his ancestors.

You’ll find other preK-12 resources on diabetes at PBS LearningMedia as well as resources for a myriad of health, exercise and diet-related subjects.