Adult On-set Diabetes in Children

America is sacrificing her children to the corporate giants of the 'food industry' who have destroyed the food value of the standard American diet (SAD) so that it is full of sugar, additives, preservatives, artificial colors and dyes, chock full of useless calories and mostly devoid of minerals, protein and the essential fats and oils needed for a healthy vibrant body. 

Many US children operate in a zombie like low energy state without the energy to do much besides play video games and watch television. Now degenerative diseases once reserved for sedentary middle-aged adults is rapidly stalking young children. 

Wouldn't it be wise to change course and start feeding our children and ourselves the kind of food that can actually sustain life and promote our human potential? 

But it looks like wisdom is just as scarce as good food...

Diabetes rising rapidly among US kids

Sat Jun 9, 2012 10:32PM GMT

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Diabetes is increasing among U.S. children at an alarming rate, say researchers who report jumps of more than 20 percent since 2001 for type 2 disease, which is linked to excessive weight and sedentary lifestyles, and type 1 diabetes, which is an autoimmune disease.

"Both types of diabetes are increasing," said study co-author Dr. Dana Dabelea, associate dean for faculty affairs at the University of Colorado School of Public Health in Aurora. "For type 2, we have some clues as to why it's increasing, but for type 1, we still need to better understand the triggers of this disease."

Many of the type 2 diagnoses are explained by the rise in overweight and obese children. According to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 17 percent of U.S.children and teens are obese -- three times the number of a generation ago.

The first study found that about 189,000 people under the age of 20 had diabetes in theUnited States. Of those, 168,000 had type 1, and more than 19,000 had type 2.

From 2001 to 2009, the number of American children with type 2 diabetes increased 21 percent, and cases of type 1 ballooned 23 percent, the researchers found. HealthDay News

HIGHLIGHTS

Type 1 diabetes occurs when the body's immune system mistakenly turns on healthy cells responsible for producing insulin, a hormone needed to metabolize the carbohydrates in food. It's been suggested that exposure to certain viruses may trigger the onset of type 1 diabetes. It is not linked to lifestyle factors, such as being overweight. digg.com

The exact cause of type 2 diabetes is less clear. People with type 2 either don't produce enough insulin, or their bodies don't use insulin efficiently. The disease is linked to sedentary lifestyles and to being overweight. However, other factors may be responsible, too. The disease can often be controlled in its early stages with lifestyle changes that include losing weight and becoming more active. digg.com

In another presentation, researchers who are also from the University of Colorado studied children with type 2 diabetes and found the disease may progress more rapidly in young people than in older folks. With an average follow-up of just four years, this study found that about one-third of children with type 2 diabetes had high blood pressure, compared to 12 percent at the start of the study. Almost 17 percent showed early signs of kidney damage, and 13 percent had early signs of eye disease. digg.com

Dr. Joel Zonszein, director of the clinical diabetes center at Montefiore Medical Center inNew York City, said he wasn't surprised by either study's findings on type 2 diabetes.Philadelphia Inquirer

"We're seeing more children with type 2, and at younger ages. They often have more aggressive disease at the time of diagnosis and other conditions, such as [abnormal cholesterol levels]," he said. "I'm concerned because these are young people being diagnosed with an adult disease, and they will probably progress to cardiovascular disease much faster." Philadelphia Inquirer

Zonszein was surprised at the dramatic rise in the rates of type 1 diabetes. "I don't know what would cause more autoimmune disease in type 1," he said. Philadelphia Inquirer

AHT/SM