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Childhood Obesity and Type 2 Diabetes
When a child has type 2 diabetes, their treatment plans may be different from one another depending on the severity of the diabetes. The usual goals of treatment though, are to control the symptoms, preventing many long-term health problems, with making certain that the child involved has a normal emotional and social development. Children with type 2 in general need to eat a very healthy diet following the food guide pyramid just as adults do. Medications need to be taken, or insulin as prescribed, and kids need to also monitor their blood glucose regularly every day. How often kids need to monitor is up to their individual health care team. Eating enough calories for kids with type 2 diabetes is also essential, but without all the unhealthy fat content of burgers and fries as an example. More weight gain over time will only make things worse, and invite early complications to set in. Early heart disease is possible for kids with type 2, along with kidney related problems. So the best way to control the situation, is to choose healthy foods, with only an occasional splurge. The main things your child needs to have in their daily diet are good carbohydrates, some proteins, and some fats. Just watch for saturated fats, AND, total fats in foods prepared. Some fats are needed to keep the skin tissue healthy. Carbohydrates provide stamina, and proteins help to balance out the blood. Too many carbohydrates or carbohydrates with a lot of sugars will raise blood glucose significantly. Exercise and activity is very very important for kids with type 2 and childhood obesity. They can do things like take walks, walk the dog, skip rope, or just play outside. Activity helps a child slim down, and get rid of their excess weight they carry, creating a healthier living as they grow. Before exercising though, a child should:
Eat a snack especially with insulin/and or oral medications.
Carry water when they exercise for hydration.
Check their blood sugar before and after they exercise.
Wear medical identification for protection in case of an emergency.
You as a parent need to let the school know of any type of diabetes your child has.
Treatment With kids and type 2 diabetes, sometimes diet and exercise getting the weight off, will put them in control. There are other cases though, just like with adults, when pills need to be taken as well. Oral medicines are not always enough for control for kids and teens. Oftentimes a child or teen with type 2 diabetes must take insulin to balance everything out. The number of pills and insulin shots your child will have to have depends on how well they are managing their blood sugars
and their A1C levels. The actions of insulin cannot be halted once injected. Doses need to be adjusted to manage the increases in blood sugar levels that happen after meals. It is important to provide the body with insulin it needs to manage between your child's meals, and overnight. This is why eating meals and snacks at regular intervals is very important. Last but not least, write down your child's management plan for their diabetes and record meals in a diary. Keeping track of weight loss is important to monitor progress, as well as tracking the glucose levels on a daily basis. Taking time to do these things will benefit a child in the end, promoting a longer complication-free life with diabetes.
After all, childhood obesity and diabetes is nothing to sneeze at!
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