It may sound strange that even though there are millions of people who suffer diabetes In the world, in fiction too many characters that have this pathology do not appear yet. That is why a survey has been carried out to find out if young people feel included in the great offer of series and films that are released today.
And it is that although little by little these types of diseases are being included in the fictions, there is still a lot to be done to normalize them. Pathologies such as cancer, diabetes, Autism or people with disabilities are increasingly seen in television productions or streaming platforms. But it is not quite visible in most of these yet.
The FEDE study affirms that 84% of young people with diabetes do not feel reflected
Young people with diabetes call for a greater presence of this chronic pathology in fiction in film and television, music and other artistic disciplines. As reflected in the survey ‘Art for diabetes’, launched by the Spanish Diabetes Federation (FEDE) to young people with diabetes between 16 and 25 years old. These results show that 84 percent of this group considers that diabetes is not covered at all or very little in fiction and art.
Likewise, 97 percent affirm that an adequate representation of diabetes would fundamentally help raise awareness among young people with this pathology. This survey is part of the campaign ‘Get involved with diabetes’, with which FEDE seeks to value the work of patient associations.
It is a campaign that also has the support of actor Joel Bosqued, known for his role in the series ‘Mothers’. In addition, it also has the influencer and presenter Ana Trabadelo, focused on the dissemination and visibility of diabetes on social networks.
The survey also shows that 99 percent of young people would agree with the creation of characters with diabetes in television series and movies. As Bosqued recounts, “we all have to draw positive conclusions about diabetes and fight together to give it greater visibility.”
In the words of the coordinator of the FEDE Youth Commission, Andrés Villegas, “when we made our debut in diabetes, especially in the case of children, we did not have any reference to take as an example.” Thus, he adds that in many cases the information they find is “complicated” and “aimed at adults with more training.”
The impact of advertising and increased exposure to television have negatively affected
Added to the low representation of diabetes is the impact of advertising on the health of young people and sedentary habits. Linked to excessive consumption of cinema, television and other content, risk factors for diabetes. In this regard, a study published in the ‘Journal of Nutrition Education and Behavior’ shows that there is a relationship between exposure to commercial television and the body mass index of children and adolescents.
The data obtained with the aforementioned survey launched by FEDE have been exposed to all young people interested in a ‘video-meeting’ through the Zoom platform. In this meeting, led by Andrés Villegas and the ‘influencer’ Ana Trabadelo, the young people were proposed to reflect. Not only on whether the visibility of diabetes in art is scarce, but also to assess the quality of the mentions to the pathology or the typology of the characters with diabetes that are found today.
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