5 Ways to Prevent Diabetes in Your Teenage Child

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great site this health.usnews.com rated to see you have what I am actually looking for here and this this post is exactly what I am interested in. I shall be pleased to become a regular visitor :)

sodopaigo of AL 2:02AM April 11, 2009

Great site this health.usnews.com and I am really pleased to see you have what I am actually looking for here and this this post is exactly what I am interested in. I shall be pleased to become a regular visitor :)

inicheKaparie of AL 1:43PM April 05, 2009

It has been proven to be virtually impossible to develop Type 2 diabetes is you're physically active/fit.

Yeah. Read that again. It's sobering, isn't it?

For once, there is a solution/preventative that does not require a prescription, or the purchase of a piece of equipment, or the laying-on-hands of an 'authority'.

What we're seeing now in our children are the cops sown when 'kids stopped playing'. As long as kids are sedentary, we're going to have both diabetes and obesity problems.

Never mind war, never mind the economy: this is the modern world's primary concern. Because if this isn't licked... Well, you don't want to see what things are going to be like in twenty-five years.

Schmadrian 8:29PM December 08, 2008

People have been talking about healthy diets and exercise for children for the last fifty years. Yet in the last decade, things have taken a dramatic turn for the worse. Why? What has changed? It is tempting to blame it on more calories consumed and less exercise but this may be wrong. I am very concerned that there may be some specific dietary changes causing this that have not been identified, and it is essential to do so.

My own prime suspect is diet soft drinks whose consumption has risen dramatically in the past decade. There is a common belief that they are harmless since they contain no fat or calories, yet there are some troubling statistics around correlation of diet soft drink consumption with diabetes and obesity. Correlation in no way proves causation, but it strongly suggests a closer look should be taken.

zack of MA 1:20PM December 08, 2008

As a dietitian, I have a keen awareness and all kinds of knowledge about the role of nutrition in health and in the PREVENTION of chronic and incapacitating diseases. Still, exercise (or lack therof) remains the largest factor and barrier for modern human beings. We have GOT to MOVE a lot and LIKE it and we have GOT to get our children outdoors, appreciating and understanding the beauty and awe of nature so exercise comes naturally to them and is enjoyable and a life-long habit, like learning.

Barbara Pratt, MA,R.D.,LDN of PA 2:51PM November 06, 2008

It is important to develop the importance of daily fitness as well nutrition routines for kids. It is also important for parents to exercise and do nutrition classes with their kids at the school or as a group after school. If their is an objective during each 60 minute session, the parent(s) and the children learn the importance of fitness and nutrition. It si not a question of if it must be done or if it can be done. It must be done now. Employers will have to understand and com ply to a new culture, a new change in how learn as adults and how we parent out children. We will be a healthier and stronger society when we build stronger families, healthier minds and bodies, and a healthier workforce.

Parents and kids need to understand how every aspect of fitness helps them in recreational sports and the activities of daily living. For example, calisthenics will help develop motor coordination skills and develop proper range of motion if the activities are done correctly and taught correctly. The second example is the development of stronger and more flexible muscles will build resilience to the stress of sitting for hours on end each day. The daily stresses of sitting at school that kids learn will go with them into the work force. We must change they physical way we work in the workforce and in the schools. If we change to a standing position versus a sitting position when we are at the computer, the daily stresses on the body will change dramatically, therefore, so will the negative adaptations on the body.

Parents need to learn how to perform manageable and effective daily self-care routines so they become better employees now and in the future and better parents to their kids. Many parents did not learn these skills growing up for many reasons. Kids and parents need to have a nutrition class each year all year so they both learn to cook healthy meals and to structure their day so they are not managed by their lifestyle. Many parents never had to take a home economics course. If they did, it was only one or two semesters, not enough to really incorporate healthy living into daily life.

We need to teach parents and kids how to manage their life versus being unstructured, uneducated, and undisciplined when it comes to incorporating wellness in every day living. This is how we make a better future for our kids, one day at a time.

Keith Gosline of MN 11:21AM November 05, 2008

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On Parenting

On Parenting

Parenting may be an art, but there's a lot of science behind raising healthy, thriving children. Contributing Editor Nancy Shute explores the latest discoveries and developments affecting children's health and parenting. Send her your comments and questions at onparenting@usnews.com.

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