How to Help Your Kids Avoid T... Health Article

Until recently, type 2 diabetes was also known as adult-onset diabetes. Now, the adult-onset prefix has been dropped because so many children are developing the condition -- the metabolic disorder that results when the body can't make enough or properly use insulin, the hormone that helps convert food into energy the body can use.

"In the early 1990s, 2 to 4 percent of our patients were children with type 2 diabetes," says Francine Kaufmanns, M.D., a spokeswoman with the American Diabetes Association and head of the division of endocrinology at Children's Hospital of Los Angeles. "Now, it may be up to 25 percent."

Likely, similar statistics hold true for other diabetes centers across the country.

In general, those with type 2 diabetes have abnormally high levels of circulating glucose (blood sugar) because their pancreas either produces little or no insulin or their bodies are resistant to insulin, the substance that transports the glucose. This resistance makes it difficult for the insulin to get glucose into the cells of the body. Like adults with type 2 diabetes, children with the condition are at increased risk for serious health problems, such as heart disease and blindness, later in life.

Type 2 diabetes has an inherited component. Still, biology isn't destiny.

"To get type 2 diabetes, you also have to have an environmental trigger," says Dr. Kaufmanns. "For most kids, that environmental trigger is obesity."

Weight gain (fat), especially in the abdomen, increases the body's demand for insulin and interferes with the body's ability to use it properly.

"To prevent type 2 diabetes, help your children stay fit and avoid becoming overweight," says Dr. Kaufmanns. "Being of normal weight doesn't stress the pancreas as much and exercise helps the body become more efficient at using glucose."

Certain racial and ethnic groups are at higher risk for developing type 2 diabetes. These include African Americans, American Indians, Hispanic Americans and some Americans with Asian or Pacific Island backgrounds.

Be a role model

Helping kids stay lean and fit is a tall order considering twice as many children are overweight or obese compared with 30 years ago.

"The problem is kids are bombarded with messages from television commercials to want junk food, to not understand what a portion size is and to drink sugar-containing beverages like soda," says Dr. Kaufmanns. "And many schools promote excess weight by allowing in-school vending machines and eliminating physical education classes. As a result, there's little opportunity for many children to get meaningful amounts of exercise."

Still, you can help your kids keep their weight in check. In fact, your encouragement and actions may be the only thing they've got to counteract societal messages that promote weight gain.

"As a parent, you're your child's first teacher," says Sheah Rarback, R.D., a spokeswoman for the American Dietetic Association and director of nutrition at the Mailman Center for Child Development in Miami.

All told, your example carries a lot of importance, so make sure you practice what you preach. To get your kids into the exercise habit, for example, do what you want your kids to do rather than just urging them to go outside and play.

Participating as a family in lifestyle kinds of exercise, such as bike riding, hiking, walking, running, basketball and tennis -- fun activities that can carry over into adulthood -- or even just playing in the park sends a strong message.

"Your kids will associate being active with fun times with the family. By virtue of your example and participation, exercise will become something they want to do," says Dr. Rarback.

Eat dinner together

Likewise, to expand your children's palates and help them learn to make healthful food choices, which, in turn, can help them avoid obesity, "make family meal time a priority at least a few times a week," says Dr. Rarback.

Why is this so important? "At family dinners, children are often exposed to a greater variety of foods and they see other family members enjoying them," says Dr. Rarback.

Not only will they eat by example, but new foods also will become less foreign when everyone has some. Of course, you may have to serve a new food 10 times before your children will try it. But don't give up -- or make an issue out of eating it either.

"Your job is to present the food -- not push it," says Dr. Rarback. To increase the likelihood your children will try a new food, have them help you select it in the supermarket and prepare it at home. If they don't like a new food, experiment with different preparations.

"Some children don't like cooked carrots, other don't like raw. Some like carrots cut in strips, some cut in circles," says Dr. Rarback.

Don't serve family style

To help your children get in touch with their hunger cues so they learn to stop eating when they're full, don't serve meals family style.

"The scent and appearance of the food on the table can entice kids to have seconds, even if they're no longer hungry," says Dr. Rarback. "Instead, portion out food on the plates in the kitchen and bring it to the table."

Also, model proper portion sizes yourself and let your kids know if they want more, they can have some if they're still hungry.

Temper TV watching and eating

When it comes to weight gain, watching TV has a bad reputation -- and for good reason.

"A simple habit like eating in front of the television can become a conditioned response," says Dr. Rarback. If your kids snack while watching cartoons, for example, eventually, the cartoons themselves will make them hungry.

To avoid this fattening habit, "restrict eating, including snacks, to the dining room or kitchen table," advises Dr. Rarback. "And be sure to have healthy snack-foods available."