Preventing Type 2 Diabetes in Children:
It is a matter of great concern that our Kids are getting increasingly affected with Type 2 Diabetes, of late. Type 2 Diabetes is usually reported in Adults, as a life style disease.
What is Type 2 Diabetes?
It is a condition when the body can’t adequately use the insulin that it produces (insulin insensitivity), or when it can’t produce sufficient insulin. The main cause of Type 2 Diabetes is poor & faulty lifestyle that’s marked by obesity and stress like factors.
What used to be commonly reported with Adults in their fifties is now diagnosed steadily in kids/teenagers aged between 6 and 18. This change must be because of the high-on-junk-food and low-on-exercise lifestyle of our new-generation.
If your kid has the following habits, know that he/she is prone to Type 2 Diabetes:
- Slouching always, not engaging energetically in physical activities
- Addicted to Junk Food like Pizza, Noodles, Fried items, Burgers and Pastries
- No outdoor activities; stuck to video games on Computer
- Too much TV
Symptoms that you must watch out for, in your children:
- Weight loss
- Increased thirst and/or hunger
- Dark skin, especially around the neck or armpit
- Unusual fatigue
- Unusually poor performance at School
- Frequent or night-time urination
- Blurry vision
How to stay safe?
The very first step is to become responsible parents who spend quality time with kids. Take interest in their physical activities, eating habits, personal hygiene, basic education and entertainment.
- Cultivate good eating habits in your kids while they are very young
- Say a firm ‘No’ to junk food, or strictly regulate its intake
- Define healthy rules for TV/Computer shows & games
- Encourage physical activities
- Check their activities at School
- Ensure that the School canteen doesn’t serve junk food
- Educate them about Diabetes like lifestyle diseases
- Grow passion in them for at least one sports or game
- Ask them to play outdoors at least for 1 hour every day
- Let them have plenty of leafy vegetables
- Be a good role model yourself, in eating habits and workouts
- Control portion size (like serving desserts in small bowls rather than big ones)
- Use smart tricks to attract kids to healthy food – like making Dosas in various shapes, decorating dishes with fruits
- Set meal timings
- Give breakfast that has milk, fresh fruit and wholegrain cereal
If you take a look at the alarmingly growing number of Bakeries and Junk food stores in/around Kottayam, you can guess how much our lifestyle is changing for the worst!
Setting the right lifestyle path for kids is our prime responsibility. Parents and Teachers must fulfill that gracefully.
