To Your Health
May, 2017 (Vol. 11, Issue 05)
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Childhood Obesity: A Big Risk Factor for Type 2 Diabetes

By Editorial Staff

Our cultural shift of late to embrace bodies of all shapes and sizes hasn't erased the unfortunate fact that being overweight or obese can have a dramatic effect on your health. Obesity is associated with diabetes, heart disease and other conditions, and the statistics are getting worse, not better.

What's more, children are increasingly putting on the pounds in dangerous fashion, and the evidence suggests they risk the same health outcomes as adults.

In fact, obese children are four times as likely as normal-weight children to suffer from type 2 diabetes, according to a new study that tracked nearly 400,000 patients ages 2-15 for two decades. Not only were obese children more likely to be diagnosed with diabetes, but the percentage of cases diagnosed also rose dramatically over time.

Is your child in the danger zone when it comes to their weight? Ignoring the extra weight because you think "it's just baby fat; they'll grow out of it" could be dangerous from a health perspective. Your doctor can analyze your child's weight, diet, exercise levels and other variables to determine if there's a problem and the safe way to address it.

obesity - Copyright – Stock Photo / Register Mark