Dr. David L. Katz: The threat of diabetes is a genuine crisis and a danger to all of our children. In fact diabetes is an increasingly common threat in our kids. When I went to medical school, I learned about two kinds of diabetes, juvenile onset and adult onset, less that a generation to go adult onset diabetes was a condition almost exclusively of overweight sedentary middle aged adults.
In the span of less than a generation we had to rename this condition Type 2 diabetes, because its increasingly common in our kids even under the age of 10. How dangerous is that? Well, an organization called the National Cholesterol Education Program Adult Treatment Panel is a group of experts in cardiovascular medicine convened by the government to advice doctors such as me in the identification and treatment of heart disease risk factors. They tell us when we see diabetes in our patients we should assume heart disease and treat accordingly.
Well, I can read the writing on the wall if seven and 8 year old are getting what used to be adult onset diabetes, it just stands to reason that 17 and 18 year old will be getting the heart disease that follows after 10 years. Heart disease too can migrate down the age curve to affect every younger people following in the footsteps of diabetes but there is a great opportunity to prevent this.
Diabetes in children is almost always secondary to obesity. If we control the weight of our children we can prevent most of this and the way to do that of course is to promote healthful eating and regular physical activity, those can be a family affair. We really need to make healthful living a part of every family's values.
Be physically active with your children, take them outside and play, make sure that all of the nutrition options in your home are helpfulness, learn how to read food labels so your kids can have all of the different foods kids like but when they choose something from your pantry its always a healthful choice, don't let the threat of childhood diabetes invade your home. From Vital Finds, I am Dr. David Katz.
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