Diabetes and obesity are linked problems, and they’re highly prevalent in our nation.
And though the rates of the development of these diseases seems to be leveling off, the numbers don’t tell the whole story.
For example, one little girl in Texas was just diagnosed with diabetes—at just three years old.
The toddler was brought into the hospital weighing a whopping 77 pounds, and the parents expressed concern for her “excessive urination and thirst.” However, she had no other past ailments and her family had no history of diabetes.
However, an examination of her diet held the answer the doctor had been looking for.
Her diet was apparently so bad that this alone, along with her sedentary lifestyle, had brought on Type 2 diabetes. The soctor called it “poor family nutritional habits with uncontrolled ounting of calories and fat.”
While Dr. Yafi, the pediatric endocrinologist that treated this girl says that this is the youngest case of diabetes he’s seen, he says he doesn’t doubt that there are plenty of cases of diabetes in children just as young or younger.
The good news is that because she’s so young, he was able to reverse diabetes in this girl, with a combination of the diabetes drug metformin, smaller food portions, and increased physical activity. Eventually the toddler was able to lose weight and bring her blood glucose levels down.
But of course, catching diabetes this early in children isn’t something doctors should have to look for.
In fact, Type 2 diabetes used to be called adult onset diabetes. But as those with adult onset diabetes began passing this lifestyle on to their children, more of these children acquired diabetes at younger and younger ages, and it became named type 2.
Those with children should be aware of their child’s nutrition, as it’s the only way to stop cases like this from happening.
