Pooja Kapadia, 17, a rising senior at High School North, received her Gold Award, the highest award for Girls Scouts, on June 5 at a ceremony in Medford. Her project was a campaign to raise awareness of polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) and insulin resistance in teenagers by hosting various health fairs and creating a website, https://teencysters.yolasite.com.
Throughout middle school, Kapadia was plagued by weight gain, extreme fatigue, and other symptoms. Despite being a competitive athlete and dancer, she could not seem to control her weight — even by drastically altering her diet. Although her mother took her to see many doctors, no one had any answers.
Her mother, Alka, is a computer programmer; and her father, Harit, is a CPA at Pandya Kapadia & Associates. Her sister, Juhi, is a sophomore at North. The family has lived in Plainsboro for seven years.
Kapadia spent several months researching her symptoms online and finally stumbled across websites for PCOS and insulin resistance. After consulting with her doctor and further tests, she was diagnosed with PCOS and insulin resistance.
“Not much information is known about these two disorders in teenagers,” she says. “After a year of confusion and frustration I decided to take matters into my own hands.” With her mother’s help and support, she began to experiment on herself to see what foods and exercise helped — and what did not. After two years of trial and error, she managed to reverse the symptoms of both disorders. In May she learned that her insulin levels were back to normal.
“I was and am frustrated at the lack of information for teens and their parents on these two disorders,” she says. “This whole project started with the simple thought that I wanted to raise awareness for PCOS and insulin resistance. Yes, they have both been around for years, but many people, including doctors, don’t know much about them. I just want to help any girl who has all these symptoms and can’t seem to find a reason.”
Kapadia is a member of Girl Scout Troop 80019 in Sayreville. Her leader is Virginia Claire and her advisor was Dr. Bani Sharma. She is also a member of Plainsboro Rescue Squad and a former volunteer at the University Medical Center at Princeton. She played competitive tennis in her freshman year but had to quit because of health problems. She also took a break from dancing during her junior year due to AP classes and SATs.
“I wanted to create a place where girls can readily get information about teens and PCOS/Insulin Resistance because I struggled so much with finding basic information,” she says. Kapadia hopes to one day use her experience and become a doctor specializing in hormone imbalances.
“This campaign has not been just a physical journey, but an emotional one as well,” she says. “Through this opportunity I have been able to let go of the many negative feelings.” She believes she is still obsessed with the scale and afraid of bread and oatmeal. “I am working through all of this, and I know that I am slowly getting my life back, she says. “I am in control of my body and PCOS is no longer controlling me.”
