Title: Type 2 Diabetes and Kids: The Growing Epidemic - Consumer Health News | HealthDay
Headings: Type 2 Diabetes and Kids: The Growing Epidemic
Type 2 Diabetes and Kids: The Growing Epidemic
Chris Woolston
Can children get type 2 diabetes?
Which children are at risk for type 2 diabetes?
What are the warning signs of type 2 diabetes?
Are there everyday consequences for children with type 2 diabetes?
How is childhood type 2 diabetes treated?
Can childhood type 2 diabetes be prevented?
References

Content: Because young children who are obese are more likely to become diabetic when they're older, experts are paying particular attention to how much -- or how little -- pre-adolescents eat and exercise. Disease researchers at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) made the prediction that one in three children born in the United States in 2000 will likely develop type 2 diabetes sometime in their lifetime unless they get more exercise and improve their diets. The prediction was especially serious for Latino children. Without changes in diet and exercise, their odds of developing diabetes during their lifetime were about 50-50. Type 2 is not usually as life-threatening or dramatic as type 1 at the time of diagnosis, but it does increase the likelihood that children may develop serious long-term complications in later life such as blindness, kidney disease, and heart disease. With proper medical treatment and a self-care program that incorporates exercise, glucose monitoring, and nutrition, however, your child can likely keep his or her blood sugar under control and avoid serious complications. Which children are at risk for type 2 diabetes? More than 80 percent of all children and adolescents with type 2 diabetes are overweight, and about 40 percent are clinically obese. Indeed, researchers suspect that increases in obesity among young people is driving the new epidemic. There has long been a statistical link between obesity and type 2 diabetes, but exactly why millions of overweight people develop type 2 diabetes has long been a medical mystery.