by Debra Thompson
Diabetes has been around for millennia. Until the development of insulin in the early 1920s, coming down with diabetes was effectively a death sentence. Most people only lived a few weeks after symptoms appeared. Thankfully, those days are long gone, and many diabetics live long and otherwise healthy lives when they religiously adhere to their prescribed regimen of insulin injections and careful eating habits.
But many diabetics have all sorts of health problems, especially in later life, even if they faithfully follow their doctor’s orders. Blindness, severe heart disease, kidney failure leading to dialysis, and foot and leg amputations are still all too common experiences for diabetics. It’s a terrible disease. And doctors say we’re experiencing a massive and growing epidemic of diabetes in this country. What makes this epidemic even worse is that in the vast majority of cases of diabetes, the disease could have easily been prevented.
The vast majority of diabetes cases fall into two categories—Type 1 Diabetes, and Type 2 Diabetes. Type 1 is the classical form of diabetes that most of us are familiar with. Until recently it was known as juvenile diabetes, and many people still call it that. Type 1 diabetes is said to be an auto immune disorder that results when the victim’s own immune system attacks the pancreas, thus producing less insulin than is necessary, or shuts down insulin production altogether.
Insulin is vital to regulating glucose levels in the body, and when not enough insulin is produced, the kidneys have to work overtime to get rid of excess glucose. This results in frequent urination and increased thirst. If not treated, the condition results in vision problems, confusion, and finally, a diabetic coma which can lead to death. In Type 1, these symptoms develop over a short period of a few weeks to a few months. Type 1 usually occurs in children and adolescents, although it can also occur in adults, which is why the name was changed recently from juvenile diabetes to Type 1 diabetes. The rates of Type 1 have remained fairly stable over generations.
The growing American diabetes epidemic is Type 2 diabetes. Between 90 and 95 percent of all cases of diabetes in this country are Type 2. Historically, Type 2 was a disease of old age and late middle age. It’s onset is more gradual than that of Type 1, and can take years to fully develop, but if unchecked can have the same consequences. And while there are other factors associated with Type 2, the two greatest risk factors, by far, are obesity and lack of physical activity. Type 2, until very recently, was extremely rare in children and adolescents. Only one or two percent of children with diabetes had Type 2 previously. In the 1990s, there was an alarming increase in the rates of Type 2 diabetes among children; now almost ten percent of children with diabetes have Type 2. In some high risk groups, almost 50 percent of diabetic children are Type 2. And fully 85 percent of all children with Type 2 diabetes are obese.
The rate of childhood obesity in America is itself a national scandal and a tragedy, and doctors are now calling it an epidemic, too. And this epidemic of childhood obesity has led directly to the epidemic of Type 2 diabetes in children and adolescents. And when we say “obese”, we’re not talking about a few pounds of baby fat. Obesity is not being merely overweight—it’s being severely overweight. When most of us (50ish) were growing up, it was rare to see an obese child. We all knew a few chubby kids who bought their clothes in the “Husky” section of the children’s department, but there weren’t many of them, and most of us can’t recall hardly any kids of our generation who were really obese. But if you’ve been to a mall lately, or driven by a school playground at recess, you know how prevalent this problem is these days. Americans have begun getting much, much fatter in the past two decades, and our children have too. Fully one third of children in America are obese. Think of it—one child in three in this country is severely overweight. And every one of them is at risk for Type 2 diabetes.
How did we get to this point, where our children are so out of shape that many of them are now coming down with what used to be called adult onset diabetes, and usually only struck people much later in life? There are many factors that have played a part. The main culprits are diet and lack of physical activity. If you’re like me, you can remember when you were a child and a soft drink was a rare treat (a boomer from a normal one-income family). So was eating at a restaurant. But now many kids drink several sodas a day, and many schools even sell them in their building. The number of new restaurants being built every year is staggering, and so is the size of the portions in more and more of them. Fast food franchises are everywhere, and many of us, especially busy working parents, find it much quicker, much more convenient, and often seemingly cheaper to swing through the drive-through and grab something than to prepare a home-cooked meal. Many children come home to an empty house and are on their own for a few hours, and often indulge in snacks and junk food out of boredom or hunger.
All in all, kids today eat far more food than did kids a few decades ago, and the food itself is often of much lower quality and additive loaded. In addition to poor dietary habits, there’s also the sedentary lifestyle many kids lead. Twenty-five years ago, most people didn’t have cable, let alone DVDs, mp3s, VCRs, personal computers, internet chat rooms, etc. To pass the time, they’d go down to the park, or take a walk to a friend’s house, or shoot a few hoops, or play softball, etc. Except for school athletes, many kids today spend hardly any time in physical exertion, but spend their spare time in front of a DVD player or computer monitor. Many schools no longer even require phys-ed classes. This one-two punch of eating far more than they should, and engaging in far less physical activity than they should, has led to this epidemic of childhood obesity, which in turn has spawned the Type 2 diabetes epidemic among our children. It’s simply biology cause and effect. The effect is tragic.
That’s the bad news about Type 2 diabetes. The good news is that in most cases it’s entirely preventable, and there are many things that you can do to make sure that your child doesn’t become a victim of it. They fall into two categories.
First, take the responsible, active role in your child’s dietary habits and choices. Good, wholesome food is what kids need, and it’s best if you can prepare it yourself so that you decide what they’re eating, and how much. Portion control is essential. Fast food, sweets, and sodas should be highly restricted, and rarely indulged in. Find out what sort of meals are being served at your child’s school, and make suggestions for healthier fare. In today’s fast-paced home with everyone heading out into their own worlds, it’s going to take some responsible step by step changes, that when they become routine, pay off for everyone—especially for your children.
Second, don’t let your child be a couch potato. It’s imperative that they have some fairly strenuous activity on a regular basis if they’re capable of it. Encourage this habit. Require it if necessary. Take a weekend hike with your kids, or a bike ride at the park. Get them a soccer ball, or put up a basketball hoop in your driveway. If phys-ed class is optional at their school, and there are no medical or physical reasons that prevent them from participating, have them do so. If they show any interest in sports, encourage them to try out for a team. Remember, weight loss is far from the only benefit of exercise and outdoor activity. Not only are active children fitter and healthier than other kids, but they also look and feel better—and that fights depression too. Set reasonable limits on the amount of TV and DVD watching, along with computer time. Kids need to be active.
Make these lifestyle changes, and you’ll greatly reduce the odds of your child developing Type 2 diabetes. A heads-ups to our African-American and Latino parents, you need to be especially vigilant, as children from these population groups are suffering from this disease at rates far greater than the general childhood population.
What are the signs that your child may be developing Type 2 diabetes?
- Excessive or increased thirst
- Frequent urination
- Unexplained weight loss
- Fatigue
- Blurred vision
- Cuts or sores that won’t heal
- Dark splotches on the neck, armpit, or groin areas
- Numbness in hands or feet
deb@health-co-op.com
Taber’s Cyclopedic Medical Dictionary