Set back your clocks, including the ones for insulin pumps

It's time to be a good environmentalist and reuse and recycle: "Discovery News on YouTube reminds us of the event and describes its history in Why We Have Daylight Saving Time."

Daylight savings is back! But why do we do it exactly? We've all heard different explanations, so Anthony hit the books in search of a definitive reason why we change our clocks.

Set back all your clocks, including the ones in your automatic dosers.  Michigan State University explains why in Could daylight saving time be a risk to diabetics?

Soon, many will turn back the hands of time as part of the twice-annual ritual of daylight saving time. That means remembering to change the alarm clock next to the bed, which will mean an extra hour of sleep before getting up in the morning.

But for some diabetics who use insulin pumps, Saleh Aldasouqi, associate professor of medicine at Michigan State University, suggests that remembering to change the time on this device should be the priority.

“Some diabetes patients who use insulin pumps may forget to change the clock that is found in these devices,” said diabetes expert Aldasouqi. “Forgetting to change the time can result in insulin dosing errors that can be harmful.”

So it's not just when we spring ahead that there are health risks.  At least this isn't a threat to everyone, the way heart attacks can be.  Just the same, it could be a threat to more people in the future than it is now.  As I ask in my worksheet for Food, Inc., "What fraction of all American children born after 2000 has been predicted to come down with Type II diabetes during their lifetime?  What fraction of minority children (from caption)?"  The answer is 1 in 3 for all Americans born after 2000, 1 in 2 for minority children.

Stay tuned for the Sunday entertainment entry.