A few weeks ago I received an email from Carolyn asking if she could guest post about children’s health and the risk of diabetes. My entire family suffers from two things; asthma and diabetes. My sister and my dad both have diabetes, so I quickly said, “Yes!”. Please read and share with your friends.
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I’m going to put it out there right now: I am not a parent. I want kids – someday – but for the time being, I satisfy my random “mommy-wannabe” moments by spending time with my little cousins. Seeing that I spend so much time with my cousins, I would have thought I would pick up on anything wrong – however, I missed the mark because this past November, one of my younger cousins was diagnosed with Type 2 Diabetes.
Even though I don’t have kids of my own, that doesn’t mean that I don’t care about the future of my cousins. November, along with being the month my cousin was diagnosed, was ironically American Diabetes Month as well. I always knew Diabetes was a serious disease for adults, but never realized someone as young as my cousin (she’s only 13!) could develop Type 2. Even scarier for me to hear, was the possible future consequences of the disease; according to Syracuse’ s St. Joseph’s Hospital Cardiac Center, if Diabetes is left untreated, it can lead to blurry vision or blindness, fatigue, weight loss, and even heart disease and neurological problems.
A common misconception is that only overweight adults get Type II Diabetes. It’s actually rapidly growing among children, and it isn’t all related to obesity either. In some cases, there are uncontrollable genetic factors, but there are also many controllable factors that help lead to the prevention of this disease. This is where families come in: working together to eat healthy and exercise regularly are ways create an environment that is fun for kids, but is also geared towards living healthily.
The Right Eating Habits
Not everything with sugar is bad for kids, but some simple sugars in excess cause weight gain, high blood sugar levels and other health-related issues. Kids love sweets – I know, shocking! What’s not shocking, however, is that to make things easier, parents can get kids involved with cooking and understanding what they eat as Step 1 in diabetes prevention for their kids. In addition, it’s better if parents also set the example. If kids see you drink soda, then why can’t they drink it too? While difficult at first to change eating habits, it can be the difference that really sticks throughout their lives. Let’s Get Creative! Kids don’t like it when you take away the Mac and Cheese, so try alternatives with them; let them pick out menus and include them in the food making process. You can also teach them about what’s in food and why it’s important to eat healthy. Depending on their age, you could think about lightly discussing Type II Diabetes, and how important it is to be healthy.
The Right Eating Habits
Not everything with sugar is bad for kids, but some simple sugars in excess cause weight gain, high blood sugar levels and other health-related issues. Kids love sweets – I know, shocking! What’s not shocking, however, is that to make things easier, parents can get kids involved with cooking and understanding what they eat as Step 1 in diabetes prevention for their kids. In addition, it’s better if parents also set the example. If kids see you drink soda, then why can’t they drink it too? While difficult at first to change eating habits, it can be the difference that really sticks throughout their lives. Let’s Get Creative! Kids don’t like it when you take away the Mac and Cheese, so try alternatives with them; let them pick out menus and include them in the food making process. You can also teach them about what’s in food and why it’s important to eat healthy. Depending on their age, you could think about lightly discussing Type II Diabetes, and how important it is to be healthy.
Instead of sodas, why not make fresh fruit and veggie smoothies? Instead of mashed potatoes, why not try whipped cauliflower with garlic and Parmesan cheese? The best thing for kids to see is parents taking part and also making it fun. Kids shouldn’t think of eating right as a punishment, but more as a way of life. If kids truly have a hard time, make it into a challenge for how many vegetables and fruits they can eat in a week, or how many glasses of water they can drink in a day. Rewards should be some kind of activity together rather than a new toy or candy.
The Next Step: Exercise
The Next Step: Exercise
Kids today love video and computer games; cartoons and other shows are also big favorites, but they don’t provide any exercise. So what are some fun creative ways to get kids active? For one, sports teams offer many great ways to burn off energy and help kids who deal with high sugar levels. In addition, they learn teamwork and leadership skills. Sports also make exercising competitive and fun, challenging kids to focus their energies into a goal. Many schools have after school programs, but local community centers and churches also sponsor sports teams. Secondly, resistance training at home can really help kids who are already overweight. Preventing diabetes is about being active. Strength training just works on building muscle. Muscles need energy to grow and help the body. With weights or just strength training exercises, kids can do low impact exercises that will help them build better bodies. Yoga is another low impact exercise that focuses on honing energy, stretching muscles, joint health and inner peace. Additional benefits of yoga, which are great for kids’ development, include increased strength, balance, and flexibility. Kids who have a lot of energy will need to work hard during the first few days of yoga, but you can do these exercises with them, whether you watch videos online or you get games that have yoga built-in, like Wii Fit. Diabetes prevention is a serious matter that affects kids and families of all kinds. If kids get dependent on sugar at an earlier age, they are more susceptible to contracting diabetes. By starting early, you can teach kids a better way to eat and live for the rest of their lives.
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Carolyn is a 20-something year old with a passion for life, fitness and overall well being. She is an avid cycler, golfer and has known to bust some serious moves on the dance floor. Check out Carolyn’s blog at http://fullonfit.blogspot.com/!
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Christie is a stay-at-home mom to two beautiful little girls, a pastor's wife, and lover of Jesus. Her hope is that STC would be a source of encouragement for women all over the world!
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Thank you for having such a great heart for children. There is diabetes on both sides of our family (husband’s and mine), so knowing things we can do to prevent the kids from developing diabetes is valuable.
Great post!! Diabetes is something I grew up around and because my love one didn’t fall into the stereotype of people with diabetes I always new I was at risk. One of the things I like to point out is read the labels of the pre package food geared to kids. Instead of buying popular kids brand yogurts or cookies I chose whole foods (like greek yogurt and homemade cookies). It’s amazing what is in our kids foods.
Candice
http://www.lillythroughthevalley.blogspot.com
Limit sugars and carbs and diabetes will not be a part of your future. Having a child, while I was born into a family of obesity, I’m one of the few without diabetes. I still have the added weight, but my glucose and my blood pressure is within normal ranges. I discuss this early and often with my son. I want his ot stay slim/slender and overall healthy.
April @ 100lbcountdown.com
Wonderful, wonderful post, Christie & Carolyn! You don’t have to have kids to have a heart for them (I don’t have kids either!) Diabetes runs on one side of my family, so I have been very pro-active in prevention. One book I just finished reading that really “hit home” with me is “Why we get fat and what to do about it.” His explanations were very helpful to my non-scientific mind. I am changing the way I eat because of it. You can be slender & still be at risk, I have learned!