Guest: How UC Davis can reduce the risk of diabetes on campus

UC Davis should lead by example of UCSF, UCLA and reduce sale of sugary drinks while providing healthier alternatives 

One in three Americans will get diabetes in their lifetimes, and one in four young adults are already prediabetic. Drinking just one to two sugary drinks a day increases the risk of developing diabetes by 26%. Not only is type 2 diabetes a serious condition itself, but it’s also a risk factor for severe illness from COVID-19. Now more than ever, there is a lot that universities can and should do to mitigate the growing diabetes epidemic, and the UCs are taking the lead. 

A recent study done at UCSF was published in the prestigious journal JAMA Internal Medicine. The study found that eliminating the sale of sugary drinks lowered the consumption of these products by nearly 50% and reduced waist circumferences in employees within 10 months. Half the participants also engaged in a motivational intervention to increase health knowledge, and this intervention led to additional health improvements. Although UCSF no longer sells sugary drinks, staff, students and visitors can still bring in those beverages from home or purchase a wide variety of them on campus, such as fruit and vegetable juices, teas and coffees, smoothies, sparkling waters and diet sodas. 

Another UC trailblazer is UCLA. Nutritious food plays a central role in its mission to provide healthy choices to its community. The initiative began with dining commons and vending machines. Now, sugary drinks make up 22% of all available beverages on campus. 

In the most popular dining hall, UCLA replaced sugary drinks with a variety of appealing, healthier options — from sparkling and fruit-infused waters to teas and coffees to fruit and vegetable juices. It still remains the most popular dining common on campus. 

In vending machines, they made minimally sweetened and unsweetened drinks cheaper than sugar-sweetened drinks. Speaking as a student, cost is a barrier to healthy choices. UCLA is tackling this issue by making healthier choices more financially accessible. By boosting health and nutrition knowledge through signage and awareness campaigns, healthy retail environments can be even more effective.

“I’d love to see another UC try it and see what the results [are],” said Pete Angelis, the assistant vice chancellor of Housing and Hospitality at UCLA.

I think UC Davis is up for the challenge.

UC Davis has taken important measures to prioritize the health of its community, including the Nourish Program launched across campus as a local implementation of the Healthy Campus Network. Nourish labels identify and promote nutrient-dense foods, including fruits and vegetables, whole grains, healthy fats and items containing minimal or no added sugars, sodium and saturated fats. Nourish-recommended foods and beverages are labeled with an orange slice logo in the CoHo, markets, dining commons and vending machines. Beverages that meet Nourish standards include unsweetened still and sparkling waters, 100% coffees and teas, 100% fruit and vegetable juices (low sodium) and unflavored dairy and non-dairy milk. UC Davis dining has also expanded sparkling water options in dining halls. Furthermore, UC Davis is participating in the UC-wide Healthy Beverage Initiative, which is expanding water stations on campus and using a student-designed campaign to promote the new water stations. 

“We are excited to install these water stations in areas that we found to be ‘water deserts’ on the Davis and Sacramento campuses and hope that it will encourage everyone to drink the healthiest, free-of-cost resource we have to offer — water,” said Stacey Brezing, the director of Staff and Faculty Health and Well Being at UC Davis, in an email. 

UC Davis, UCLA and the other eight UCs have also prioritized the health of staff by offering the Diabetes Prevention Program, created by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The year-long program provides participants with education, encouragement and counseling to prevent type 2 diabetes.

“If we can reduce the number of [at-diabetic-risk] team members in half, then we’re gonna do that,” Angelis said.

The UC system is in good company. Like UCSF, the University of Michigan, Baylor University and Cleveland Clinic have eliminated the sale of sugary beverages. Like UCLA, institutions such as Cornell and Stanford have removed sugary drinks from their dining halls and replaced them with a variety of other options.

UC Davis has great examples to build on, and could create an even better initiative to truly make UC Davis “the healthiest place to work, learn, and live.” 

Written by: Laurel Denyer 

Laurel Denyer is a third-year undergraduate at UC Davis majoring in Global Disease Biology. Denyer is also a research assistant in a public health lab on campus, where she focuses on sugar-sweetened beverages and healthy retail. 

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