
Teen heartthrob Nick Jonas, the youngest of the Jonas Brothers, met with President Obama to lobby on behalf of diabetes research. Nick, 16, revealed in 2007 that he has Type 1 diabetes, making the cause one close to his heart, according to Access Hollywood.
Nick has been to the White House before- he and his brothers were waiting at the end of a scavenger hunt for the first daughters, Sasha and Malia. This time, though, it was more serious. He posed with the president and other children living with diabetes. He also testified along with Sugar Ray Leonard and Mary Tyler Moore on the importance of diabetes research.
According to the American Diabetes Association, 23.6 million children and adults have diabetes, which amounts to 7.8% of the population. 5-10% of diabetes sufferers have Type 1 diabetes like Nick Jonas. It occurs when the body is unable to produce enough insulin, which is needed to break down the glucose that fuels the cells of the body. The most common form of diabetes, Type 2, is a form of insulin resistance along with an insulin deficiency. Other types of diabetes include gestational diabetes, which occurs in 5-10% of pregnant women, and pre-diabetes, which results from glucose levels that have not yet reached the range of Type 2 diabetes.
For more information about diabetes and it's prevention and care, visit the American Diabetes Association
Source:
Access Hollywood
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