It is no secret that there is an obesity and diabetes epidemic sweeping across North America. In fact, 1 in 10 adults in the United States over the age of 20 have been diagnosed with this disease. That is an alarming statistic. What is even more alarming is the drastic increase of children being diagnosed with type 2 diabetes. Recently, a case study was presented at the European Association for the Study of Diabetes in Stockholm which detailed the youngest known case of diabetes — and the victim is a 3 year old child.
The girl, of Hispanic background, was presented to a paediatric endocrinology clinic and seen by Dr. Yafi for obesity evaluation. She was showing symptoms of excessive urination and thirst, both textbook symptoms of type 2 diabetes. Although both the girl’s parents are obese, there is no history of diabetes in her family.
What’s The Cause?
Upon review of the child’s diet it was found that the family practiced poor nutritional habits. The physical examination revealed her weight was 35 kg (in the top 5% of all children her age) and her Body Mass Index was also in the top 5% of children her age. Tests were done to rule out other possible causes of her obesity and weight gain; laboratory tests revealed that she has high fasting plasma glucose and hbA1c. She tested negative for antibodies that would reveal type 1 diabetes.
According to Dr. Yafi, “Based on symptoms, physical findings of obesity and laboratory results the diagnosis of type 2 diabetes was made.”
The young girl was then started on a liquid version of the diabetes drug metformin. Her parents were educated about diabetes and nutrition and were asked by the medical team to implement lifestyle changes such as: controlling her meal portions and calorie intake and increasing the amount of physical activity she engaged in. After this, the child was able to lose enough weight to normalize her blood glucose levels; the metformin therapy was then decreased by 50% each month until being stopped entirely.
Dr. Yafi concluded by saying: “Reversal of type 2 diabetes in children is possible by early screening of obese children, early diagnosis, appropriate therapy and lifestyle modification. The incidence of T2DM has increased dramatically worldwide in children due to the epidemic of child obesity. Clinicians should be aware of the possibility of type 2 diabetes even in very young obese children, although of course type 1 diabetes can also still occur in obese children and is in fact much more common in young children than type 2 diabetes.”
Alternative Treatment & Prevention
While this method worked to successfully reverse this girl’s diabetes, there are many measures that could have been taken to prevent the situation in the first place. Type 2 diabetes is completely preventable and can be avoided entirely just by making lifestyle changes. To significantly lower your or your child’s risk of being diagnosed with type 2 diabetes be sure to stay active and get adequate exercise — at least 60 minutes of physical activity daily. You should also cut down or eliminate sugary foods and drinks, incorporating fresh foods into your daily meals instead.
If you have already been diagnosed with type 1 diabetes, it could be a great wakeup call and reminder to take control of your health! It is possible to completely reverse this condition and eliminate the need to take insulin. In a documentary titled Simply Raw: Reversing Diabetes In 30 Days, diabetic participants were put on a raw diet for thirty days, and the results are incredible. All participants (5 with type 2 diabetes, 1 with type 1 diabetes) had drastic turnarounds in their health and they all had their diabetes either completely reversed or brought well under control. To read more about that please click here.
We do have the power to change our lives. It is important to remember that.
Much Love
Source: http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2015-09/d-atw091615.php