This article is very interesting because it offers some perspective on the degree to which our children and adolescents have succumbed to the silent killer – a disease that causes all sorts of problems throughout the body : type 2 diabetes. The primary cause, as with adults, is excess weight and obesity. Indeed, childhood obesity is rising at a faster pace that that of adults and the problems isn’t going away any time soon. This article highlights the need for a renewed push to save our teens from problems that should never plague them in the first place.
More on this topic from NPR: A Dire Sign Of The Obesity Epidemic: Teen Diabetes Soaring, Study Finds : Shots – Health Blog : NPR
Our take: Childhood obesity is nothing new and while children’s bodies are better able to withstand many of the ailments that accompany obesity, there is a limit. As children become more and more obese they will begin to develop the very same comorbidities as obese adults. Each of these comorbidities can cause serious damage to the body, if left unchecked. The result, as we are seeing, will be ever younger diabetes patients and shortened lifespans with a poor quality of life. Childhood obesity in the United States is an epidemic the likes of which we have never seen before.
