A dozen donuts.That was a typical breakfast for Tassiana Willis, a 24 -year -old African -American poet, when he was growing.In his family, the moments of joy focused on sweets.His grandfather, a man of few words, showed his affection taking them to McDonald's on weekends.

Willis, who grew in San Francisco, has taken advantage of the power of poetry to raise awareness about type 2 diabetes, a preventable disease caused largely by bad eating habits and lack of exercise.Before it mostly affected adults, but now it is extending at an alarming pace in young people, especially between ethnic minorities and those living in low -income homes.

"Raise your voice and change the conversation," the slogan sets on four new videos produced for an art and public health campaign called The Bigger Picture.The videos, including one of Willis called "The Longest Mile" (the longest mile), show young poets telling deeply personal stories about the circumstances of life promoted by diabetes.

The videos challenges viewers to watch "the biggest image" - that is, the broader context - behind the alarming increase in diabetes.Instead of highlighting the poor individual elections, they expose social and economic factors - all, from food prices and marketing to unequal access to parks and games - that conspire to push young people in color to a style of a style ofunhealthy life.

"The way these stories are narrated ... It really demands a social change," said Natasha Huey, director of Youth Speaks, one of the four California Youth Development Organizations that was associated with the Center for Vulnerable Populations of the Universityof California-San Francisco to produce the videos of poetry.

The Bigger Picture, which was launched in 2011, has produced more than two dozen videos about diabetes, which together have seen more than 1.5 million times on YouTube.They have also presented in school assemblies for thousands of students in the Bay area.

The increase in type 2 diabetes among young people goes hand in hand with the increase in obesity rates.

Willis said he is Obesa due to the way his family, who faced financial challenges, ate when he was young."There are powerful emotions behind why we eat what we eat," he said in an interview.

In "The Longest Mile", Willis remembers the humiliation of not being able to run a mile during the Physical Education class in middle school."It wasn't slow/I was just fat."Obesity is promoting the spread of type 2 diabetes, and Willis knows that he has a high risk of contracting it.

Luckily I escaped from type 1 diabetes
I feel like always
1 soda of type 2
It's like dodging a bullet
And commit suicide with a gun
In my kitchen

Unlike type 2 diabetes, which is related to lifestyle and obesity choices, type 1 diabetes is generally developed in early childhood and it is believed that it is the result of genetic and environmental factors, including viruses.