A three-year-old girl was diagnosed in 2013 with type 2 diabetes, after her parents brought her to doctors at the University of Texas complaining of excessive urination and thirst. She has since reversed the condition through treatment.
What Leads to a Childhood Diagnosis?
Upon examining her, doctors at the UT clinic for pediatric endocrinology established that the girl had no family history of diabetes. However, her diet “consisted mainly of fast food, candy, and sugary drinks, and she hardly ever played outdoors.” She was also in the heaviest five percent of children her age, weighing a little over 77 pounds. Her parents were also obese.
This instance may represent the earliest lifetime diagnosis of type 2 diabetes to date. Type 2 diabetes occurs when the body develops a resistance to insulin, the hormone produced by your pancreas that metabolizes sugar. Insulin resistance means that the body has trouble converting sugar into energy, and the glucose builds up in the bloodstream instead. If left untreated, diabetes can be life-threatening.
For a long time, type 2 diabetes was only seen in adults. But the increasingly poor lifestyles of many people, children included, has led to a correlated increase in the prevalence of type 2 diabetes, especially considering that obesity is a huge contributor to insulin resistance.
Reversing Childhood Diabetes
Thankfully, this girl’s diagnosis was reversed after six months of treatment. Doctors prescribed her the liquid form of a drug called metformin, which helps reduce glucose production by the liver. Perhaps more importantly, they worked with her parents to swap out sugary drinks for water, fast food for home-cooked healthier meals, and inactivity for walks, swims, and outdoor playtimes. Within half a year, she had lost 25% of her weight, her blood sugar levels had normalized, and she was able to stop the metformin treatments. Today, at age five, she is symptom-free.
Taking Proper Precautions against TYPE 2 Diabetes
Genetics are also a factor in the onset of type 2 diabetes, but a healthy lifestyle can go a long way for most in working to prevent the disease. Early screening and diagnosis is also important for reversing symptoms, especially in children. Warning signs include excessive thirst and urination, blurry vision, irritability, and tingling or numbness in your extremities, among others. If you’re worried about you or your children’s risk of developing the disease, see a doctor!
STOP EATING CANDY. IT’S OBVIOUSLY BAD FOR YOU:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Uh73AjBjCN0
Three-Year-Old Diagnosed with Type 2 Diabetes
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