Childhood and Adolescent Obesity and Diabetes

PEARLAND, Texas - Nov. 19, 2013 - PRLog -- November is National Diabetes Month and it causes us to look at a disturbing epidemic that is sweeping the U.S. and directly affecting our children.  A core value at Cypress Springs Family Care is to provide information and education on key issues affecting the health and well being of members of our community - especially our children.

Obesity has more than doubled in children and tripled in adolescents in the past 30 years.  The percentage of children aged six to eleven in the U.S. who were obese increased from seven percent in 1980 to about eighteen percent in 2010.  Similarly, the percentage of adolescents aged twelve to nineteen who were obese increased from five percent to eighteen percent over the same period.  In 2010, more than one third of children and adolescents were overweight or obese.

Both immediate and long-term effects on health and well-being result from childhood and adolescent obesity.  Obese youth are more likely to have risk factors for cardiovascular disease such as high cholesterol or high blood pressure.  They are also more likely to have pre-diabetes, a condition in which blood glucose levels indicate a high risk for development of diabetes.  Obese youth are at immediate risk of bone and joint problems, sleep apnea, and social and psychological problems, as well.  The long-term effects include the high likelihood that an obese child or adolescent will be an obese adult and, therefore, at high risk for adult health problems such as heart disease, type-2 diabetes, stroke, several types of cancer and osteoarthritis.

Diabetes has become one of the most common chronic diseases diagnosed in children and adolescents in the U.S.  Type-1 diabetes is the most frequent for children with 90 – 95 percent of diagnoses for patients 16 years and younger falling in that category.  Diabetes is caused by the inability of the pancreas to produce insulin.  Type-1 is classified as an autoimmune disease, meaning a condition in which the body’s immune system “attacks” one of the body’s own tissues or organs.  In type-1 it is the insulin producing cells in the pancreas which are destroyed.  Each year more than 13,000 young people are diagnosed in this country with type-1 diabetes.

Unfortunately, over the last two decades, type-2 diabetes, formerly known as adult-onset diabetes, has been reported among children and adolescents with increasing frequency.  Type-2 begins when the body develops a resistance to insulin and no longer uses the insulin properly.  As the need for insulin rises, the pancreas gradually loses its ability to produce sufficient amounts of insulin to regulate blood sugar.  Health care providers are finding more and more children with type-2, a disease previously diagnosed in adults over the age of 40.  Epidemics of obesity and low-level physical activity among young people may be major contributors.

Detecting diabetes in children, especially type-2, is difficult because it can go undiagnosed for a long time and children may not exhibit symptoms or display only minor symptoms.  Also, blood tests are needed for a confirmed diagnosis.  Cypress Springs Family Care specializes in Well Child Exams, which include screening for diabetes and most importantly, arming your family with the knowledge and tools you need to secure optimal health and wellness.

Their focus is to provide Well Family Exams and education.  We provide tips on getting healthy and staying healthy.  They treat each patient as an individual with unique needs and then provides a customized course of action to reach and maintain vitality.  Through nutrition, exercise, mental relaxation and regular exams, each member of your family can achieve their greatest wellbeing.