~Statistical Facts~
According to the
Center for Disease Control (CDC),
here are the latest facts regarding:
~Childhood Obesity~
- Obesity is a serious health concern for children and adolescents. Results from the 2007-2008 National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES), using measured heights and weights, indicate that an estimated 17 percent of children and adolescents ages 2-19 years are obese. Between 1976-1980 and 1999-2000, the prevalence of obesity increased. Between 1999-2000 and 2007-2008 there was no significant trend in obesity prevalence.
- Among pre-school age children 2-5 years of age, obesity increased from 5 to 10.4% between 1976-1980 and 2007-2008 and from 6.5 to 19.6% among 6-11 year olds. Among adolescents aged 12-19, obesity increased from 5 to 18.1% during the same period.
- Obese children and adolescents are at risk for health problems during their youth and as adults. For example, during their youth, obese children and adolescents are more likely to have risk factors associated with cardiovascular disease (such as high blood pressure, high cholesterol, and Type 2 diabetes) than are other children and adolescents.
- Obese children and adolescents are more likely to become obese as adults.For example, one study found that approximately 80% of children who were overweight at aged 10–15 years were obese adults at age 25 years. Another study found that 25% of obese adults were overweight as children. The latter study also found that if overweight begins before 8 years of age, obesity in adulthood is likely to be more severe.
~Children and Diabetes~
Diabetes is one of the most common chronic diseases in children and adolescents; about 151,000 people below the age of 20 years have diabetes.
When diabetes strikes during childhood, it is routinely assumed to be type 1, or juvenile-onset diabetes. However, in the last 2 decades, type 2 diabetes (formerly known as adult-onset diabetes) has been reported among U.S. children and adolescents with increasing frequency. Also, studies conducted in Europe showed an increase in the frequency of type 1 diabetes, especially in young children. It is unclear whether the frequency of type 1 diabetes is also increasing among U.S. youth.
Findings
Each year, more than 13,000 young people are diagnosed with type 1 diabetes.
Type 2 diabetes begins when the body develops a resistance to insulin and no longer uses the insulin properly. As the need for insulin rises, the pancreas gradually loses its ability to produce sufficient amounts of insulin to regulate blood sugar.
Health care providers are finding more and more children with type 2 diabetes, a disease usually diagnosed in adults aged 40 years or older.
A statistically significant increase in the prevalence of type 2 diabetes among children and adolescents was found only for American Indians.
The epidemics of obesity and the low level of physical activity among young people, as well as exposure to diabetes in utero, may be major contributors to the increase in type 2 diabetes during childhood and adolescence.
Type 2 diabetes in children and adolescents already appears to be a sizable and growing problem among U.S. children and adolescents. Better physician awareness and monitoring of the disease’s magnitude will be necessary.
Standard case definition(s), guidelines for treatment, and approval of oral hypoglycemic agents (to lower blood sugar) are urgently required for children and adolescents.
Children and adolescents diagnosed with type 2 diabetes are generally between 10 and 19 years old, obese, have a strong family history for type 2 diabetes, and have insulin resistance. Generally, children and adolescents with type 2 diabetes have poor glycemic control (A1C = 10% - 12%).
Those affected with type 2 diabetes belong to all ethnic groups, but it is more commonly seen in non-white groups. American Indian youths have the highest prevalence of type 2 diabetes. In the 15-to-19-year age group, the current prevalences were
50.9 per 1000 for Pima Indians from Arizona;
4.5 per 1000 for all U.S. American Indian populations (reported cases from the U.S. Indian Health Service outpatient clinics);
2.3 per 1000 for Canadian First Nation people from Manitoba (reported cases from outpatient clinics).
In comparison, the prevalence per 1000 of type 1 diabetes for U.S. residents aged 0-19 years is 1.7 per 1000.
Population-based prevalence estimates for other ethnic groups were not available. In a retrospective study of such reports, a referral center in Cincinnati, Ohio, found an incidence for type 2 diabetes of 7.2 per 100,000 for African Americans and whites aged 10-19 years in 1994. By comparison, the national incidence of type 1 diabetes among those aged 10-19 years is 19 per 100,000. In most of the U.S. case reports, type 2 diabetes accounted for 8% to 46% of all new cases of diabetes (type 1 and type 2) referred to pediatric centers. The magnitude of type 2 diabetes is probably underestimated.
Why is it hard to detect the prevalence of
type 2 diabetes in children?
It is hard to detect type 2 diabetes in children because it can go undiagnosed for a long time; because children may have no symptoms or mild symptoms; and because blood tests are needed for diagnosis. It is difficult to be sure it is type 2, because criteria for differentiating between types of diabetes in children are confusing; that is, children with type 2 can develop ketoacidosis (acid build-up in the blood); children with type 1 can be overweight; and because the overall prevalence of the disease may still be low. This means that scientists will have to sample a very large population of children in order to find a stable estimate of prevalence.
CDC Initiatives:
In response to this growing public health concern, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and the National Institutes of Health (NIH) are funding a 5-year, multicenter study, SEARCH for Diabetes in Youth, to examine the current status of diabetes among children and adolescents in the United States. Cooperative agreements were awarded to six sites to establish a multi-center registry system that will cover over 6 % of the children and adolescents in the United States. The main objectives of the study are to assess the magnitude and burden of diagnosed diabetes and to develop criteria to differentiate between the types of diabetes among young people in the United States.
The study includes a data coordinating center and a central laboratory and has these two phases:
to develop a uniform protocol to identify children and adolescents with diabetes
to implement the uniform protocol to identify cases of diabetes in children in the areas covered by the six study sites.
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