Children and Diabetes

This really shouldn't come as a surprise but, the number of children being diagnosed with Type 2 diabetes is at an alarming rate:

In another sign of the alarming childhood obesity epidemic in the United States, researchers report a 200 percent increase in the number of children hospitalized for type 2 diabetes.

Just a reminder about what exactly Type 2 diabetes is:

Type 2 diabetes, which used to be called adult onset diabetes because it was rarely seen in children, is typically diagnosed in patients who are overweight. Left untreated, it can lead to such complications as heart disease, blindness, nerve damage and kidney damage.

When most kids were diagnosed with diabetes, it was the type 1 version, which is the result of genetics mostly. Type 2 diabetes is mainly caused by diet, a very poor diet. The comparison in this study between both types in kids is startling:

They found that rates of hospitalization for type 1 diabetes increased 15 percent between 1997 and 2003, while rates of hospitalizations for type 2 diabetes increased 200 percent.

So the big question is, what steps can parents take to help prevent their child(ren) from getting type 2 diabetes?

First, parents need to realize that they have to change their own health behavior before they can really effectively change their child's. If you as a parent have your cupboards stocked with junk food, eat out more than once a week, and don't exercise, then how is your child supposed to live a healthy lifestyle if you yourself aren't providing an environment that encourages that?

Here's some tips:

- Make eating healthy a family goal, where everyone is going to do it. Go through every spot in your house and throw out any and all junk food.
- Stay away from fast food. Enough said.
- Go out and get some family exercise. Play catch with your kid, walk the dog, teach your child games that you used to play as a kid (kick the can comes to mind).
- Limit your's and your child television time. Let's say no more than an hour at night before they go to bed.
- On the same note, limit the time your child spends in front of a computer or playing video games. The goal is, limit tv, internet, and other computer games and exchange that with outdoor games where your child is getting exercise and not even knowing it.

These are just some suggestions and should give you a starting point. Just taking these easy steps can help reduce the chances of health problems our children.

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