Signs and Symptoms of Diabetes

Type 2 diabetes used to be called adult-onset diabetes.

This is because it usually occurred in older adult, with most of them actually in their 60’s or 70’s.

That is not true anymore.

Type 2 diabetes is now found at all ages. Not just the elderly. It is now found even in grade school children.

Extremely rare in children before the 1990’s, type 2 diabetes is becoming more and more of a problem for children. Particularly in children who are overweight and whose families have a history of diabetes.

The same reasons type 2 diabetes is found in adults is precisely the reason it is found in children.

That reason is excess body fat and a lack of exercise. Many people think that it is ok for children to have treats filled with sugar and fatty food like french fries on a regularly. They believe that the children will just burn the fat off magically.

One estimate is that by the year 2010 fifty percent of American kids will be overweight. What does that have to do with diabetes? With children who have type 2 diabetes, eighty percent are very overweight when they are diagnosed with diabetes.

A publication called Diabetes Care reported that children with type 2 diabetes were more likely to develop serious complications than children with type 1 diabetes. Those serious complications are very serious.

What can be done?

Parents need to be better informed about the risks of diabetes. They will need to practice prevention with their children, just like they need to with themselves.

Parents need to know that a family history of diabetes means a need to be extra careful. They need to be aware of the signs-symptoms of type 2 diabetes, so they can notice when a child’s blood glucose levels may be out of balance and leading to diabetes.

It is important, even if there is not family history of diabetes, to watch your child’s intake of foods with added sugars and refined flours.

Many people with a disposition towards diabetes cannot control their desire for foods like these. They have a tendency to crave foods that are poor quality carbohydrates and have too many calories. This leads to excessive weight gain.

It can be hard as a parent or grandparent to say no to children asking for sweets.

You often feel like you are punishing them if you do not allow the sweets. Still, you will be far from punishing them if you can help prevent diabetes. After seeing what those who have diabetes may go though, I always thought it would be true torture to be a child with diabetes.

What can you do to prevent diabetes in your children?

Start by a healthy diet. Avoid excessive sugars. Realize that sodas, energy and sports drinks can have way too much sugar. Try to encourage more exercise in your children. Best of all, set a good example for them.

It is best to look at and refer to a lifestyle change in terms of good health and nutrition, not in terms of a diet and weight management. Make it a positive change not a negative one that makes them feel fat or rejected.

Finally, make it a family-wide lifestyle.

If your child is at risk for type 2 diabetes, the rest of the family probably is also. When you all start to live a healthy lifestyle, your child will feel that the diet choices are normal. Your child may also  benefit by having parents that have then avoided type 2 diabetes because they chose to live a healthy lifestyle as an example.