Type 2 Diabetes
Type 2 diabetes, the sixth leading cause of death in Americans, is becoming alarmingly common in children. If the trend continues, one in three children born in the U.S. in 2000 will develop diabetes at some point in life, reports the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Overweight, obesity, and physical inactivity are all contributing factors, and they too have become national health problems. As public health experts work to educate Americans on what to do to avoid this disease and its serious complications, parents should be aware that eating habits and activity choices can be changed to lower a child’s risk of developing diabetes.
An overweight child with just 2 other known risk factors faces a substantial risk of having or developing type 2 diabetes, warns the American Diabetes Association. The following risk factors are important to monitor:
Significantly overweight
A close relative with type 2 diabetes
Descendent of American Indians, African Americans, Hispanic Americans, or Asians/South Pacific Islanders
Signs of or conditions associated with insulin resistance, including acanthosis nigricans, hypertension, dyslipidemia, or polycystic ovarian syndrome
The American Diabetes Association makes the following screening recommendation:
A child who is overweight and has 2 or more risk factors should be screened every 2 years for diabetes, starting at age 10 or at the onset of puberty if that occurs at a younger age.
The American Academy of Pediatrics advises the following:
A child with 1 or more risk factors should be monitored closely for diabetes, and counseling on nutrition, weight control, and physical activity is appropriate for any child with a body mass index above the 85th percentile.
Links
Information to help parents learn how to lower their child’s chances of developing diabetes is available from The Children’s Hospital at Bronson: http://www.bronsonhealth.com/pdfs/BR_Kids_News.pdf.
See the article Obesity and link to an online calculator that can help you determine if your child is seriously overweight.
Sources
American Diabetes Association. Type 2 diabetes in children and adolescents. Diabetes Care. 2000 Mar;23(3): 381. Available on the Internet at http://care.diabetesjournals.org. Accessed July 19, 2004.
Grassi Y. Type 2 diabetes: reduce your child’s risk now. Bronson for Parents (newsletter). 2003 Winter. The Children’s Hospital at Bronson, Kalamazoo, Michigan. Available on the Internet at http://www.bronsonhealth.com/pdfs/BR_Kids_News.pdf. Accessed August 31, 2004.
National Center for Chronic Disease Prevention and Health Promotion, Diabetes Public Health Resource, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, United States Department of Health and Human Services. CDC issues statements on diabetes issues: lifetime risk for diabetes mellitus in the United States. (Original source: Naryan KMB, Boyle JP, Thompson TJ, Sorensen SW, Williamson DF. Lifetime risk for diabetes mellitus in the United States. JAMA 2003 Oct 8;290(14):1884-1890.) Available on the Internet at http://www.cdc.gov/diabetes/news/docs/lifetime.htm. Accessed August 30, 2004.
National Diabetes Education Program, National Institutes of Health, United States Department of Health and Human Services. Resources on children and adolescents. Available on the Internet at http://www.ndep.nih.gov/diabetes/youth/youth.htm. Accessed August 30, 2004.
National Diabetes Information Clearinghouse, National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases, National Institutes of Health, United States Department of Health and Human Services. Am I at risk for type 2 diabetes? NIH publication no. 04-4805. 2004 Apr. Available on the Internet at http://www.diabetes.niddk.nih.gov/dm/pubs/riskfortype2/index.htm. Accessed July 19, 2004.
