Prevention of diabetes?

Hi,
My oldest son (aged 8)has type II, I'm very worried obout my younger sone (aged 4), is there any literature out there suggesting a way that diabetes can be prevented?

Frank

[JDRF-Team-cd]

I understand your concern.  You can go to www.diabetes.org, search for type 2 in kids and you have several articles.  Also, you can go to www.childrenwithdiabetes.org and search for type 2.  I would suggest a healthy diet limiting the fats and sweets, lots of exercise, and on the next visit to the doctor, ask to speak with a pediatric dietitian. I would be careful of fast foods and make them the exception, not the rule. You are definitely on the right track in helping your four year old before he develops type 2 and will even help your eight year old by learning healthy eating habits.

[JDRF-Team-LRS]

Frank,
My comment doesn't directly answer your question, but I hope it's a bit helpful for you.

I'm certain your whole family is concerned now with managing your son's diabetes and trying to learn about the disease & possible prevention. It is quite unusual for a youngster to be diagnosed with Type 2, altho' it is not unheard of, especially in some high risk ethnic groups where the children are obese.

Has your 8 year old been seen by an endocrinologist?

[lchan]

Hi,

Type 2 diabetes can be managed and possibly prevented via lifestyle modifications including increasing a person's activity level and changing their diet.  Possible diet modifications include replacing simple carbohydrates (eg, soda, candy, white bread, white rice) with foods having a lower glycemic index, and limiting consumption of carbohydrates overall.  The glycemic index is a measure of how much a food affects blood sugar levels.  Type 2 diabetes generally results from insulin resistance (may be genetically and environmentally influenced) and the inability of the body to produce enough insulin to regulate blood sugar.  One theory is that habitual intake of simple carbohydrates means that the pancreas is always pumping out high levels of insulin to overcome the insulin resistance; this simply "wears out" the pancreas, and over time, the amount of insulin that the pancreas is able to produce decreases.  Limiting simple carbohydrates and choosing foods that are less likely to increase blood sugar may help preserve the ability of the pancreas to produce insulin.

There is a lot of information available on the internet regarding the topics I have mentioned.  Here are some resources:

Controlling insulin resistance/preventing type 2 diabetes:
http://www.healthtalk.com/den/110101/controllinginsulin.html
Glycemic index:
http://diabetes.about.com/library/mendosagi/nmendosagi.htm
General type 2 info:
http://www.diabetes.org/type2/type2.jsp
http://www.merck.com/mrkshared/mmanual_home/sec13/147.jsp
http://www.merck.com/pubs/mmanual/section2/chapter13/13a.htm#A002-013-0900

I wish you and your family success in managing type 2 diabetes.  I have been diagnosed with pre-diabetes (insulin resistance) and remember how confused and scared I felt when first diagnosed.  My endocrinologist has been very helpful, and with the proper plan in place, I've been able to lose weight and maintain good blood sugar control.

I hope this is helpful.

Regards,
Liz