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Essay about The Rise Children with Diabetes in the United States

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In the United States and in many other countries around the world more children are being diagnosed with type 2 diabetes. In the past, children who were diagnosed with diabetes were diagnosed with type 1. Type 1 diabetes affects many children in which they are unable to produce insulin. However, as times have changed children are now being diagnosed with type 2 diabetes which is a chronic illness that usually affects adults. Type 2 diabetes develops when the person is not able to produce enough insulin, and if insulin is being produce it is not effective. According to the Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), about 90% to 95% of all diagnosed cases of diabetes are type 2 (2012). About 215,000 children in the United States are …show more content…

Children can reduce the risk of being diagnosed with type 2 diabetes by changing their eating habits and participate in physical activity. Weight in children has become a great concern because more children are becoming overweight or obese, hence increases the number of cases of children being exposed for pre-diabetes or already have the disease. According to Wilson, type 2 diabetes is more common in individuals with a family history of diabetes and in young female adults (2013). Furthermore, when children are diagnosed with this disease it places them more at risk for other non-communicable diseases such as heart disease. Hence, they are at higher risk for cardiovascular disease and blindness. Children with the presence of insulin resistance have a high risk for type 2 diabetes. Most of the children affected are minority overweight children (International Journal of Obesity, 2009).
In recent years the prevalence of diabetes in children has been higher for pre-diabetes (International Journal of Obesity, 2009). This is a great concern because children are only a few steps away from acquiring a chronic disease that can be easily prevented if the health behavior is changed. According to the CDC, 15% to 30% of people with prediabetes will develop type 2 diabetes within 5 years (2012). Another high risk factor for children is ethnicity. Studies have demonstrated a higher prevalence of obese

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