Adult Diabetes in Kids? Heavier Kids Creating a Big Problem
Jan. 18, 2001 (New York) -- The rise of "adult" diabetes among children is alarming researchers, who are warning parents to keep their kids active and away from unhealthy foods. Diabetes experts addressed this issue at a special briefing held here Thursday by the American Medical Association and American Diabetes Association.
The two most common forms of diabetes are divided into types 1 and 2. Type 2 diabetes has long been known as an "adult" disease because it develops gradually, usually beginning in middle age, as the body becomes less sensitive to insulin (called insulin resistance). Its prevalence is now termed an epidemic -- and kids are increasingly getting it, not just type 1 "childhood" diabetes, where the pancreas completely stops manufacturing insulin.
"In some of the populations that we're seeing, 30% to nearly 50% of the new adolescents appearing with diabetes have type 2," says Kenneth Jones, MD, a pediatrics professor at the University of California at San Diego. "This is up from the 1% that we saw 15 or 20 years ago."
The rise is closely linked to our nation's bulging waistline and our decline in physical activity. "We have met the enemy, and it is us," Jones says.
"You've got to get your kids out and get them exercising again, get them playing games, and get the food that's fattening out of the house," Henry Ginsberg, MD, a professor of medicine at Columbia University School of Medicine, tells WebMD. Parents increasingly have to crack the exercise whip themselves because many schools have stopped physical education programs.
Karmeen Kulkarni, RD, a diabetes clinician at Saint Mark's Hospital in Salt Lake City, Utah, tells WebMD that kids are less likely than adults to plunge into potentially high fat/high protein "weight loss" fad diets. But that doesn't necessarily mean they're eating right. "Teenagers are so focused on how they look, so it's more vegetarian or no-fat. But parents should encourage a variety of foods, including a lot of fruit and vegetables and whole grains."
Since diabetes has a strong genetic component, tending to run in families, Jones tells WebMD that those with a history of the disease in their close relatives should keep an especially close eye on their kids' lifestyle.