There was a time when diabetes was an adult problem rarely, if ever, seen in children. That has changed. In 2001, the increasing number of obese children throughout the United States led policy-makers to rank it as a critical public health threat. Since the 1970s, the obesity rate has more than doubled for preschool children (2-5 years old) and adolescents (12- 19 years old). It has more than tripled for children ages 6-11 years. Currently, more than 9 million children age 6 or older are obese.
This increase in the rate of childhood obesity is directly linked to the increase in diagnoses of type 2 diabetes, which includes the following risk factors: obesity, little or no physical activity and family history (at least 75 percent of children with type 2 diabetes have a parent, sister or brother with the disease).
The most common cause of type 2 diabetes is obesity, which has been directly linked to a sedentary lifestyle. According to Dr. Andrew Weil, “An estimated one-quarter of all cases of type 2 diabetes could be prevented with 30 minutes a day of moderate physical activity alone.” Regular exercise helps control weight, stabilizes blood-sugar levels and decreases insulin resistance.
As with any disease, there are risks involved in ignoring the problem. Type 2 diabetes is notoriously easy to ignore. Most children don’t have symptoms when the disease is first diagnosed, but if there are symptoms, they’re usually mild, including having to urinate more often, feeling a little more thirsty than normal and losing a little weight for no clear reason.
