NEWS-CHILDHOOD OBESITY AND DIABETES

[Guest guest]

It used to be that when a doctor diagnosed a child as diabetic, it

meant the child's pancreas couldn't produce insulin to break down

sugars.

It's called type one diabetes.

And type two diabetes was mostly a disease of older, overweight

adults whose bodies don't use insulin well.

Diabetes educator Janice Kraus says fifteen years ago, she never saw

children with type two.

But that has changed.

Kraus: What we are seeing percentage-wise is that within the last

five years about fifteen to twenty five percent of newly diagnosed

children have type two diabetes.

Kraus points to the rising rates of obesity in children as the

reason.

Unlike type one diabetes, type two is brought on by being overweight.

Kraus: This development of type two diabetes in children was not as

prevalent until we saw the increase in obesity in school age

children.

A two thousand three survey by the Centers for Disease Control found

ten percent of New Hampshire kids overweight.

That's twice the percentage of twenty years ago.

A more recent survey by the New Hampshire Health Assessment Project

found nineteen percent of third grade girls and twenty three percent

of third grade boys are overweight.

Landt: We're seeing more profoundly overweight children. We're not

seeing chunky kids, we're seeing truly obese young people.

Doctor Landt is a pediatric endocrinologist at Dartmouth

Hitchcock in Manchester.

She says a rise in type two cases among children is so concerning

because the disease causes so many serious medical complications.

Landt: It is the leading cause of blindness, it is the leading cause

of kidney failure, and it's the leading cause of non-traumatic

amputation in the United States. So really it takes otherwise

healthy kid with a chance for a long and healthy life and sets them

up to have a number of very serious medical disorders.

Managing type two diabetes seems pretty straightforward.

There is an oral medication that helps the body use insulin better.

And often type two diabetes can be controlled without drugs, by

keeping weight down, eating appropriately, and exercising.

In reality, however, this approach proves to be nearly impossible.

Doctor Landt has seen only three of her young patients successfully

change their lifestyle and keep their blood sugars at a safe level.

Landt: It's difficult, and it's very difficult because what you're

asking people to do is change a lifestyle.

Seeing type two in children frustrates Doctor Landt because it's so

serious and yet it's so avoidable.

And public health officials are focusing attention on changing

unhealthy lifestyles before children become obese and develop

diabetes.

Across the state schools are implementing creative exercise programs

and healthy eating curricula.

The Governor awards certificates to children who meet walking goals.

And there are a number of other community events designed to get

kids interested in exercising.

Kathy Berman is in the state's Diabetes Education Program.

Berman: We have to all work together to really do a state-wide

community based effort to head this off at the pass because it's big.

Economically, it's a mammoth.

According to the American Diabetes Association, the medical expense

for all diabetes patients in two thousand two was ninety two billion

dollars.

For the average diabetic individual, the cost for treatment is over

thirteen thousand dollars a year.

The vast majority of diabetics, more than ninety percent, are type

two, and most of them are over sixty five, meaning Medicare is often

footing the bill.

There is no estimate available for how much it costs a year to treat

a child with type two diabetes.

Doctor Landt says it is extremely expensive.

Landt: If you're checking your blood sugar oh say four five six

times a day, that's at least four dollars in materials in the course

of the day just to do your blood glucoses. And medications, it

depends on the dose and the medication you're taking. So to

quantitate it is a little bit difficult, but it is an ongoing

expense.

Additionally, patients need to get laboratory monitoring on kidney

function, see the doctor four times a year, and get annual eye check

ups.

And cost is not the only unknown.

Doctor Landt says that the medical community doesn't know what will

happen to these children's health over the course of their lifetime.

SOQ