>> welcome to "teen kids news." i'm livia. here's our top story for this week. >> over the years, "teen kids news" has reported on a growing medical problem among american teens -- diabetes. there are two forms of diabetes. there's type 1, which is basically something you're born with. 10-year-old k.b. has type 1 diabetes. and then there's type 2, which is mostly caused by poor eating habits and lack of exercise. aziana was 11 when she found out that, like her mother, she had type 2 diabetes.

>> i seen my mom, and, like, she takes medicine, and i didn't want to do that. >> now here's the really bad news. >> both type 1 and type 2 diabetes are increasing in american children. >> dr. dana dabelea is with the colorado school of public health. okay. so, what is diabetes? >> it affects your blood sugar. >> it doesn't stay the way it normally would in, like, a healthy person. >> diabetes is a condition that occurs when the body either doesn't make enough insulin or doesn't respond normally to the insulin that it makes. >> insulin is a hormone that most of us naturally make in our body. insulin converts sugar into energy. so, those with type 1 diabetes were born with an inability to process sugar. on the other hand, if you eat too many foods and drinks with lots of sugar, you can develop type 2 diabetes. bottom line -- whether type 1 or type 2, you don't have the natural insulin you need. >> and as a result, the blood-sugar levels rise, and

that rise in blood sugar can cause damage to the various organs of the body -- the eyes, the kidneys, the blood vessels. and that's what diabetes is really all about. >> when i first found out, i couldn't believe it. i was scared. >> we met skyler shortly after he learned that his body wasn't making enough insulin. he has type 1 diabetes. skyler carefully monitors his diabetes. that means measuring the amount of sugar that's in his bloodstream throughout the day, especially after eating. he gives himself insulin shots to bring his sugar levels into proper balance. >> i eat the school's lunch, and i just eat what they give me. and i try to count my calorie points and put as much insulin in me as i need for that one meal. >> lenny used to get headaches and was constantly thirsty. >> i had no clue what i was going through. >> he has type 2 diabetes. some other typical symptoms are feeling tired and having to visit the bathroom frequently. unlike type 1, which is mostly

dictated by our genes, type 2 is something we can develop and, therefore, can often avoid. sadly, diabetes is getting worse in this country. the journal of the american medical associatisays type 2 has increased by 30% in recent years. >> most of it is due to the obesity epidemic in children. we saw similar increases in white and black children. the largest increase we saw was in hispanic children. >> type 1 diabetes has also increased by 21%. clearly, this is an important issue that we all need to take very seriously. it can be deadly. so far, there's no cure for diabetes, but it can be managed. >> i eat healthy foods, exercise a lot. i manage my weight, and i take my medication on a regular basis. >> the best advice i could give other young people is just to keep their head high and keep a positive attitude towards it. >> we can't help being born with

genes that give us type 1 diabetes, but we can fight getting type 2 diabetes. cut down on the sugar, especially in soft drinks. even some juices have too much sugar to be healthy. cut down on the foods with hidden sugars. for example, foods with lots of carbs -- they turn into sugar after you eat them. and help your body get rid of unnecessary sugar by getting exercise. trust me -- life is a lot sweeter when you don't have diabetes. >> here's another reason to cut back on the cola. doctors say drinking too much of it can zap your muscle power. even diet cola can drain potassium from your blood, and that's something your body needs. so, next time you're thirsty, you might want to reach for something that isn't carbonated or overly sweetened. think "water." >> don't go away. we've got lots more still to come on "teen kids news." we'll be right back.

>> hooplaha's motto is "life with a smile." their website features good news, inspirational stories,

cute pictures, and funny videos. sound familiar? since "teen kids news" has a similar mission, we're presenting you with our hooplaha pick of the week. >> westophate club is a social-media movement to end bullying. it's turned into a movement in our school. we just need to break free from all of the negativity that surrounds us. the main goal of the westophate club is to give students a safe environment and to provide them a comforting place where they are free to be themselves. >> it's a piece of paper with hershey kisses on it, and people send it to each other, and it has a really nice compliment. >> we sold them for about two or three weeks. it's not just stopping bullying. it has faces. it has people that are passionate about it, and that makes it so much better. >> i just love to see people's faces light up when they get a

positive note. >> it's a compliment, and i think people are starting to spread more cheerfulness >> i didn't expect it, and it was really sweet. and then i sent them to three of my friends, and i think they liked them. >> it just affects people so much, and it makes them feel so good about themselves and it undoes a lot of the negative effects that people have on them, and i really wanted to be involved with something that has such a positive impact. >> i kind of started being bullied freshman year, and then once i joined westophate, i stopped letting it get to me. >> i was always kind of like this outcast girl. >> by joining westophate, i want to help spread the positivity. >> every school can definitely use a westophate club. >> i think it just way more positive energy around. like, people -- they're just a lot nicer to each other. >> i think the school's changed quite a bit. they've heard the club. they see the bracelets. they see the shirts. >> they just realized how not only teachers can change it but students, too.

>> you may never have thought of this, but dating is a lot like driving. kristina explains. >> lisa jander, the "teen dating mechanic," is back with more tips. hi. >> hi! >> so, how is dating like driving? >> well, dating and driving are very similar in that when you think about driving down a road, there are boundary lines, and they were put there for a reason, and the reason is to keep you safe. while boundaries are really important in driving, they're also very important in dating -- establishing what those boundaries are. do you hold hands? do you not hold hands? what is okay in your world in terms of physical boundaries? in addition to that, it might even be a financial boundary. what are you comfortable spending on something? do you each pay your own way? do you pay for the movie? so, what are your financial boundaries, and what makes you feel comfortable? it's really important to evaluate those. >> good point. thanks, lisa.

once again, your advice steers us in a good direction. >> thanks for having me. >> we'll have more dating advice in upcoming programs. you can also check out our website to learn more about the "teen dating mechanic." >> i'll take you behind the scenes at an aquarium. hey, have any of you seen nemo?

>> every state has one, but most of us don't know why they look the way they do. here's "flag facts." >> you might not want to have a close encounter with a beehive, but you have to admire how much work goes in to making that honey. it's that spirit of industry that puts a beehive in the middle of the state flag of utah.

>> the beehive is a symbol of industry, commerce, and hard work and would seem to be a perfect symbol for a state like utah, which was so difficult to settle. >> it did take a lot of hard work to create a state in the middle of the desert. it took a lot of faith, too. mormons were seeking a place to practice their form of christianity, which was new and controversial. >> in 1830, joseph smith began the mormon religion in upstate new york. they quickly had to leave upstate new york because of religious persecution, and after a brief stop in the midwest, they settled in the territory that would become utah. >> the mormons arrived in 1847. the date is right there on the flag, along with 1896, the year the state entered the union. at first, mormon leader brigham young wanted to claim a much bigger territory and call it "deseret." congress didn't go for that, so the state was smaller and named after the ute indians who were there first. >> but one thing that's very interesting about the state is that of all 50 states, it boasts

the youngest population, with an average age of 27.1 years. >> utah is also famous for amazing natural wonders, with two great national parks -- zion and bryce canyon. but they're too big to put on the flag! i'm brandon with "flag facts." >> are you ready to getfacts." face-to-face with a shark? how about a stingray? nicole has some close encounters of the underwater kind. >> the maritime aquarium in norwalk, connecticut, offers visitors a unique experience -- a fascinating, behind-the-scenes tour. cathy hagadorn is the aquarium's education manager. >> what happens behind the scenes is people really get to learn about what it takes to run an aquarium, what it takes to feed the animals, what their needs are, some of the veterinary care that goes on, and kind of really what makes the aquarium special. coming behind the scenes at the maritime aquarium is definitely a treat. >> with thousands of fish and other animals to take care of, you can imagine that food is

high up on the list of importance. so our first stop is at a room with what you'd expect at an aquarium -- lots of scales. >> we are in the fish kitchen, and at the fish kitchen, this is where we prepare all of the meals for the animals that live here at the maritime aquarium. >> fish to be used as food is thoroughly inspected. >> just like if you go to a restaurant and you order fish from the menu, the chef is gonna check the eyes to make sure they're clear. the chef is gonna smell it to make sure it smells healthy fishy but not really a bad fishy. >> i didn't realize there was a good kind of fishy. i thought there was only one fishy. and guess who's coming to dinner. sharks! we're in the staff-only area above the open-ocean shark tank, where betsy is getting ready for feeding time. she's called an aquarist. i'd call her "brave." so, how do you feed a shark? >> you feed a shark very carefully. all of the sharks here at the maritime aquarium are pole-fed so that way we can record exactly who's eating and how

much they're eating. now, these sand tiger sharks are actually more like scavengers than they are predators, so the fact that we are feeding them kind of a dead fish at the end of a stick is what they would kind of be doing in their natural environment. now, you can see some excited behavior -- there we go. very good. >> that was exciting. ooh! are they fighting each other there? >> not necessarily fighting each other, but just a little bit of competition. >> so what's next? >> we just got done feeding the sharks, so we're gonna feed some of the smaller fishes in there. would you like to give it a shot? >> sure! >> all right. >> to throw the fish, or not to throw the fish -- will i do it? we'll find out when "teen kids news" continues.

i'd like to drop out of high school and get a meaningless job that makes me feel bad about myself. i'd like to fall victim to the old boys' network.

i don't want anybody to notice me. i just want to fly under the radar. i want to splatter against the glass ceiling. i don't have an opinion. i want to be a straight "c" student. i'm going to be a biomedical engineer. [ girls laughing ] i mean, i want to succumb to peer pressure all of my life. i'm going to be a best-selling novelist and win the national book award. i'm going to be a marine biologist. wait! i take mine back. i'm going to be a biomedical engineer. i think i'll be the president. i'm going to be secretary of state. world-class chef right here. race-car driver. artist. paleontologist. film director. surgeon. teacher. scientist. olympian. i'm going to be the boss. i'm going to change the world.

>> we're on a behind-the-scenes tour at the maritime aquarium in norwalk, connecticut. it's feeding time, and i'm about to reach into a bucket of very cold, very wet, and very dead fish. yum! so, what do i do? >> okay, you're just gonna take a handful. you're gonna go to the edge here and then you're just gonna throw it out and cascade it over the edge here so that they can all get the fish -- have an equal opportunity. >> all right. right now? >> yep, go for it. >> ugh! it's cold and gross! [ laughs ] that did not work as well as i planned it. like so many other things in life, practice makes perfect.

>> look at them all coming. you're a pro at this now. very good. [ cheers and applause] >> each area of the aquarium re-creates life in the wild. so not only do the tanks need to be kept at specific temperatures, even the amount of salt in the water needs to be individually controlled. i was also surprised to learn that something in these tanks is used to make one of my favorite foods. >> if you're reading the ingredients on ice cream or even beauty products, if you look for something called karagenin or agar -- that actually comes from seaweeds from right here on long island sound or the atlantic ocean. >> the aquarium isn't all about fish. while not part of the official behind-the-scenes tour, ellen let me meet the seals. it turns out each one has plenty of personality. you make friends with your fist -- what's called "targeting." >> what's going on, razz? >> good. all right, what you can do is, you want to just hold the fish right like that in between two

fingers and hand it right to her. >> aww, good razz. >> last but definitely not least, i'm going to get up close and personal with some of the strangest creatures of the deep at the ray touch tank. the stingrays are hungry, too. >> if you keep your hand nice and flat -- keep it in the water. here he comes. yep, if you keep your hand down nice and flat, they might know it's feeding time. >> hi. aww. >> keep your hand nice and flat. here we go -- this guy will give you a good pet. >> aww. now, before you decide to pet the next stingray you encounter, keep in mind that the stingers on these guys were carefully removed. >> the stingrays in the wild do have little stingers, or barbs, at the end of their tail, and that's kind of a defense mechanism. if a predator was gonna come up to them and try to eat them, they can use their barbs to kind of scare off their predators. but here at the aquarium, we can actually trim off those barbs so that way they're not stinging each other, and that way they're also not stinging the people who come to touch them. >> stingrays are actually related to sharks. unlike other fish, they have no

bones, just cartilage like we have in our ears and noses. >> so scientists call that cartilaginous fishes. >> i learned a lot. i got to touch rays, work with seals, and help feed sharks. i guess i can say "tanks" for the memories. at the maritime aquarium at norwalk, i'm nicole for "teen kids news." >> it's time to get your opinion in "speak of the week." >> it's a pretty big universe out there, so do you think we're alone, or do you think there's life on other planets? >> i think there's definitely life on other planets. i think that because there are billions and billions of galaxies out there that can be just as advanced as ours, there has to be some form of life. it's kind of -- it's kind of -- i don't know -- arrogant to think that we'd be the only people to inhabit this giant space we have. >> i hope there's not life on

other planets because that could be a scary thought. >> i don't even think that we're the only ones here. there has to be. it's a big universe. >> i definitely think there's life on other planets. i'm not sure what type of life. i don't know if it's aliens type, but i definitely think there's other things out there. >> the chances there's a galaxy just like ours in an ever-expanding universe, i think, is pretty great. >> do you think we'll ever make contact? >> i think we will, thought it might be dangerous. [ laughs ] >> maybe in the very distant future, yeah. >> i think it is possible, yeah. >> no, i don't think we'll ever find them. >> back in the 1990s, nasa actually started a program to search for alien life. nothing was found, but the program still continues. who knows? maybe they'll find something one day. with "speak of the week," i'm eden. ought i could ignore i, and i wished it would just go away.

[rock music playing] it was my adhd. and like many kids with adhd, i didn't outgrow it. one of the issues i had was not being able to focus. i would read and i would reread the same sentence. you'd read it over and over and over again. and then, five minutes later, i wouldn't know what i just read. it wasn't sticking with me. it wasn't sinking in. and that, to me, was really frustrating. as i got older, i was still having that issue. and that's when i knew i needed to talk to the doctor. announcer: if you were diagnosed with adhd as a kid, you might still have it. find out more. take a quiz at ownyouradhd.com to help recognize the symptoms, like inattention, impulsivity, hyperactivity, then talk with your doctor. i take responsibility for my adhd. it's your adhd. own it.

>> this report is brought to you by paramount pictures. [ siren wailing ] >> surveillance is showing heavy foot clan activity. [ gunshots, people scream ] >> they're taking hostages. >> let's rock and roll. >> go! >> whoo! >> the wise-cracking crime fighters are back in the action-packed blockbuster "teenage mutant ninja turtles," and they're facing their biggest challenge yet. >> my sons, i have trained you your whole lives to protect the city above. but i fear you are not ready for its greatest threat. >> we're taking your armor to the next level. [ beeping ] [ explosion ] [ sword clanks ] >> shredder. >> the multi-bladed shredder is like a killer samurai on steroids. >> sensei!

nooooo! aaaaaah! [ electricity zapping ] >> sensei. >> you must stop shredder. together... you are stronger than he can ever be. >> shell-shocked but not defeated, the four brothers discover the wisdom of sensei's words in this visually stunning adventure. >> there were specific characteristics for each turtle, and there was this quiet thoughtfulness that i wanted leonardo to have, and we actually took russell crowe's eyes and nelson mandela's mouth and melded those into him -- just anything that subconsciously gave him leadership qualities. >> raphael is the uh one with the anger issues. >> he's angsty. he's brooding. he's big. he's all the things he should be. >> raph is definitely the bad boy of the group. he's angry, hotheaded, quick-tempered, man of action.

>> aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaah! >> and i think that's hugely fun to play and to bring to life. >> raph, get to the fan room! >> why are you always telling me what to do?! ugh! >> so, it was important for me that raph was an individual who thinks he can do everything himself. you know, he's that brother who thinks he'd be better off alone, and his journey becomes about realizing that without his brothers, he would be a lonely little turtle. >> aah! >> that's harsh, man. >> michelangelo, who was always my personal favorite -- he's the comedian. he's that sort of laid-back, cali style, even though he lives in the sewers of new york city. >> check the bass, brah. [ whirring ] >> uh-oh. >> my bad. >> donatello reminded me of spock, so we took leonard nimoy and sort of used his features as a starting point -- a smart, introverted, logical thinker.

and, of course, donatello has all his gadgets and his machines that he's built, and he's, you know, got almost these touchscreen interfaces that he's modeled for his three fingers. >> just a great, fun new world to explore with him and all the things that are at donny's disposal in this new age, and it's just cool to be able to play someone like that that is such an icon. >> bam! system disabled! who wants italian? i'm buying! >> the four turtles' distinctive personalities are definitely part of what makes them such enduringly popular heroes -- that...and a whole lot of humor. >> do not say a word about this to anyone. if you do, we will find you. >> yea-a-a-a-h! we'll find you. i'm sorry. that came across supercreepy, okay? we will find you, though. >> ohh! >> and you can find out loads more behind-the-scenes secrets on the "teenage mutant ninja turtles" blu-ray combo, coming out just in time for the holidays. >> so, they're aliens? >> no. that's stupid.

they're turtles. >> is there anything else we should know about them? >> they're ninjas. >> ugh! >> whoo! >> for "teen kids news," i'm scott. >> [ chuckles ] we'll see you next time on "teen kids news." thanks for watching. have a great week. entures--

brought to you by seaworld and busch gardens. for more than 40 years-- working to preserve the world we share. the garden of eden... a lush wonderland of wildlife like no other place on earth. kept alive only in songs and myth. for the ancient garden no longer exists... or does it? ♪ ♪ hi, everybody, i'm jack hanna. here at my base camp-- busch gardens tampa bay.