Diabetes rates are on the increase among American youth. Type 2 diabetes that used to be seen primarily among adults over 45 is now more common in children. One out of every 523 people younger than 20 years old has diabetes. The World Diabetes Day campaign theme for 2007 was "Diabetes in Children and Adolescents," which was intended to raise awareness about the increasing prevalence of type 1 and type 2 diabetes among youth around the world. Educational materials were released in November to coincide with National Diabetes Awareness month.

Type 1 diabetes is the most common form of diabetes among children and young adults. However, type 2 diabetes rates are soaring because of the youth obesity problem. The National Diabetes Education Program (NDEP) is spreading the message to more than 54 million Americans with pre-diabetes that type 2 diabetes can be prevented or delayed. They have developed a new “Tips for Teens with Diabetes” series, which encourages youth to be active, make healthy food choices, and stay at a healthy weight.

The NDEP’s new series of tip sheets is intended to help young people diagnosed with diabetes and their parents to manage the disease. There is also an online quiz created especially for teenagers to help them manage their disease and reduce the risk of complications. The National Institutes of Health and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention jointly sponsor the NDEP.

Most children love video games and movies. If you have just had, a child placed in your home for adoption it can certainly be tempting to let that child sit in front of the television. If the child is new to your family and new to the neighborhood then he or she doesn’t have friends to play with yet. Even if you wouldn’t normally let your child play video games for hours, you probably feel a little sorry for your new child. However, lack of exercise is a factor in developing type 2 diabetes so be careful not to let this develop into an unhealthy routine that you’ll have trouble breaking later.

Many children who come from the foster care system or orphanages were also used to hunger. Many of them will gorge or hoard food and they tend to prefer sweets. While we initially provide children with their favorites to help them adjust to their new environment, we need to be careful not to let this become routine as well. Childhood obesity is the main reason that type 2 diabetes is on the rise.

For more information about NDEP's free resources for children and teens, visit www.YourDiabetesInfo.org or call 1-888-693-NDEP (6337).

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Photo Credit Julia Fuller 2007