Diabetes is a condition that has unfortunately been passed down through families, said one Southern California pediatrician.

Dr. Patricia Riba, a pediatrician with the Community Care Health Center in Huntington Beach, spoke at a recent Latino and health care workshop put on by the California Chicano News Media Association that religion/general assignment reporter Louis Medina and I attended.

She had several interesting insights into diabetes, obesity and schools.

Riba has been working with her local schools on improving their menu.

It's hard to teach a child to eat healthy when they get Fruit Loops and juice for breakfast and a corn dog and chocolate milk for lunch, she said. She advocates packing kids a lunch.

And then to punish a child by taking away their recess, which could be the only time they are active, is "cruel and unusual," Riba said.

She's a fan of letting the children decide what to eat.

When she goes to a restaurant she has her children put the food they want on their plate. This pushes them to develop their own internal controls on how much is too much. It also avoids the "eat everything on your plate" mentality.

Also, juice is never a good choice. It's pumped full of sugar, Riba said.

"Eat an orange and drink a glass of water, other than orange juice," she said. "The machine that makes the juice does all that the body should do."

Lastly, don't put junk food around your kids. If they only have healthy food to choose from, they'll eat it.

"I hate to have a child decide between broccoli and Cheetos," she said.

(Read "Latinos and access to health care" on The Pulse blog for Riba's other insights.)

How do you feel about what she said? Do you agree? Anything to add?