Childhood Diabetes

What is Diabetes?
Obesity occurs when the body either does not produce enough insulin or when the body cannot properly use insulin. Insulin is a hormone that is needed to convert sugars and starches into the energy that we need everyday. There are two types of diabetes.

Types of Diabetes
Type 1, or non-insulin-dependent insulin, occurs when the pancreas does not produce any insulin. Researchers have recently discovered that type 1 diabetes is linked to genes. Type 1 diabetes is also known as juvenile diabetes, as you are born with this type of diabetes and it remains with you for the rest of your life.

Type 2 diabetes, or non-insulin-dependent diabetes, is linked to being overweight. The onset of type 2 diabetes is usually for individuals over the age of 40.

Recent research is showing that 8-45% of childhood diabetes cases are now related to being overweight. This rise in childhood type 2 diabetes is causing alarm among health care practitioners. They fear that as children who are overweight and physically inactive age, there will be more cases of type 2 diabetes. Doctors are urging children with risk factors (overweight, inactive, poor diets) to get tested for the disease and seek treatment.

Does Your Child Have Diabetes?
One indicator of diabetes is the need to frequently urinate. This happens because sugar (glucose) cannot properly enter the body’s cells; this creates a high level of sugar in the blood. The kidneys try to empty the blood of this excess sugar by evacuating the sugar out of the body with urine.

Of course, frequent urination occurs for many reasons, and not every child who urinates frequently has diabetes. This is why it’s important to look at other risk factors, such as obesity and physical inactivity.

If your child is at risk for diabetes and is exhibiting symptoms, then have your child assessed by a doctor. Doctors will give a urine test. If your child is found to have diabetes, then it is important to begin treating the disease.

How Do You Treat Diabetes?
There are a number of ways a child with diabetes is treated. First, the child needs to inject insulin into her body to make up for the inefficient insulin or lack of insulin. This insulin functions just like the insulin produced by the pancreas—it takes glucose in the blood and puts it in the cells, so that cells can function normally.

Diabetes and diet are also linked. Kids need to start eating healthy foods and eating less sweets. Dieticians will help your child figure out how many carbohydrates he needs to eat at each meal.

Lastly, exercise is very important for kids with diabetes. Exercise helps control the blood sugar levels.