News this month
Obese children more
than twice as likely
to have diabetes as
non-obese children

Diabetes, hypertension and other
obesity-related chronic diseases that
are prevalent among adults have now
become more common in youngsters.
According to a study from the
University of Michigan Health System, obese children are twice as likely to have diabetes than children who are of normal weight.
Researchers found that more than
229,000 children – approximately 3.2
cases for every 1,000 American
children under the age of 18 –
currently have diabetes. And
one-third of those children are obese.

The lead author of the study,
Joyce Lee, M.D., assistant professor in the division of pediatric endocrinology at the University of Michigan, states that about three in one thousand U.S. children under age 18 have diabetes, and obese children and teens have the worst odds.
“Among school-aged children,
obese children have a greater than
twofold chance of having diabetes,
compared to children of normal
weight,” said Dr. Lee.

The study was conducted by
researchers with the Child Health
Evaluation Research (CHER) Unit in
the division of general pediatrics at the
University of Michigan C.S. Mott
Children’s Hospital. It is based on data from the National Survey of Children’s Health (NSCH), a population-based household telephone survey sponsored by the Maternal and Child Health Bureau, the National Center for Health Statistics, and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
As part of the interviews, parents
and guardians were asked if they had
ever been told that their child had
diabetes. The children were then
grouped into three categories based
on their body mass index (BMI): not
overweight, overweight and obese.
BMI was calculated using the height

From newscasts to medical conferences, the childhood obesity epidemic continues to grab national attention. Estimates are that the incidence of obesity is reaching 20 percent in the school-age population, and data from the 2002 International Obesity Task Force reveals that there are greater than 22 million obese or significantly overweight children under 5 years old.

As with all chronic health issues, the consequences of obesity have become more evident as the problem becomes more prevalent. Obstructive sleep apnea, attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), cardiac disease, asthma, hypertension and multiple hormonal disorders have been connected with obesity by multiple investigators. This study tells us something we have presumed for some time: children who are obese more than double their risk of diabetes.

Parents must begin to recognize the problem and change the course of their children’s health. This begins with understanding of obesity. Nearly one out of five children is obese. As I have found in practice, obesity is sometimes quite obvious, but at other times very subtle. Diagnosing obesity begins with a child’s body mass index (BMI). BMI is a calculated number that tells you how proportionate your child’s weight is for his or her height. BMI can be graphed on a standard growth curve to give you your child’s weight-for-height percentile. If your child’s BMI percentile is over 95 percent for age and gender, your child is defined as obese. All checkups should include a BMI measurement. It is important for parents to understand BMI and to talk to their children’s pediatrician about it.

If a child experiences a sudden increase in BMI percentile parents should:

• stop giving the child fruit juices and change to water or calorie-free drinks. Obesity is a much more significant health risk than the ingestion of artificial sweeteners.

• switch from whole milk to skim or 1 percent milk. Some low-fat milk products taste like whole milk but are better for the child.

• pack lunch rather than allowing the child to order a hot lunch and keep eating out at restaurants to a minimum.

• make sure the child eats a breakfast with protein each day before school. Switch from high-sugar cereals to low-sugar ones.

• encourage the child to get 30 minutes of pulse-raising activity daily.

These recommendations are not just for overweight children, but healthy lifestyle choices for the entire family. Success is much more likely if healthy habits are embraced by everyone.

Sometimes the above recommendations are not enough. Complications of obesity such as diabetes, metabolic syndrome or cardiac disease may need the help of a subspecialist or team of specialists. A pediatrician can help parents decide if this step is necessary.