Type 2 Diabetes Among Children Today
As most of us know, type 2 diabetes is prevalent among children in today’s world.
Up until the last decade or so, type 2 diabetes was referred to as “adult onset diabetes,” which meant that it took time to develop in older, overweight adults, typically between 40-50 years old. But with a more sedentary lifestyle and poor eating habits among children, they, too, are coming down with type 2 diabetes, along with other health problems prevalent among adults. Because of this, we need to stop referring type 2 diabetes as adult onset diabetes. Up until a decade ago, type 2 diabetes was very rare in children. But today, it’s become the norm among children.
Do you want a really sad statistic? Statistics show that if current trends continue, one out of very three of our children born in 2000, here in America, will develop diabetes in their lifetime. For African and Latino kids, it’s one out of very two.
So, what can we do to turn this around?
– Be a good parent by instilling healthy habits for your children, because children learn by example. So if you want your children to be healthy, you, as the parent, need to do the same thing and walk your talk.
– Visit your child’s school and see what’s being served in the cafeteria. Because most of the food our schools serve these days are high fat, high sugar, high calorie, frozen and highly processed foods.
– Restrict your child’s time watching television, because it’s promotes physical inactivity, and it exposes your child to food advertisements.
So if you instill these habits in your children, your children will lead a healthy and active lifestyle.