doc_text: About 7 percent of the general population has diabetes, McNamara said.; Hispanics who have strong American Indian ancestry may be vulnerable to diabetes because about 50 percent of all Indians develop diabetes, McNamara said.
  Also, the high-fat diet of many Hispanics leads to obesity, which seems to trigger diabetes, McNamara said.; Eighty percent of Hispanics over 40 who are diagnosed as diabetic are overweight, she said.
  ; The clinic Saturday will focus on three ways to manage diabetes -- diet, exercise and medication.
  Participants will learn that traditional dishes can be just as tasty -- but healthier -- when made with unsaturated fats, and that exercise will reduce weight, which in turn will lower the possibility of contracting diabetes.; "There is no magic pill to cure diabetes.
  You have to manage your own diabetes, and we're teaching people how to take care of themselves," McNamara said.
  ; The hospital and the diabetes society are sponsoring neighborhood diabetes programs for Hispanics, which are taught by bilingual instructors.; The programs, which first began in 1984, are aimed at people who speak only Spanish or people who are more comfortable receiving instruction in that language.; "We found that the regular programs that we started years ago were not reaching the monolingual Spanish-speaker," McNamara said.; IF YOU'RE INTERESTED; The diabetes management program for Hispanics will be from 9 a.m. to noon at St. Louise Health Center, 18500 St. Louise Drive, off Cochrane Road in Morgan Hill.
  Registration begins at 8:30 a.m.
  Further information is available from the Diabetes Society of Santa Clara Valley at (408) 287-3785..
summary_text: Hispanics, whose incidence of diabetes is two to three times as high as the US population as a whole, can learn how to manage illness at a free hospital clinic and/or in neighborhood programs in the Morgan Hill area of San Jose, California.
  The clinic will focus on three ways to manage diabetes: diet, exercise, and medication.
  Participants will learn that traditional dishes can be just as tasty, but healthier, when made with unsaturated fats and that exercise will reduce weight, which in turn will lower the risk of contracting diabetes.
  The programs are aimed at people who only speak or prefer Spanish.