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According to a recent news article, obesity rate is
increasing not only in adults but also in children which
is a serious matter of concern. Being obese maximizes
the risk of contracting various diseases including Type
II diabetes. The risks include negative effects to our
body parts like muscles and bones, eyes and mouth disorders,
sleep disorders etc. A recent report shows that the
rate of Type II diabetes among children worldwide has
also increased significantly over the last 15 years.
The main cause of gaining weight is
the lack of exercise and improper eating habits. It
is worth mentioning here that such an inactive lifestyle
reduces the action of Insulin. Type II Diabetes occurs
when insulin that the body produces is less efficient
at moving sugar out of the bloodstream. Though some
sugar is moved out of the blood, but not as effectively
compared to a person with normal insulin efficiency.
It leads to high blood sugar levels. A high blood sugar
level is also responsible for serious effects like heart
disease (cardiovascular disease), blindness (retinopathy),
nerve damage (neuropathy) and kidney damage (nephropathy).
According to researches conduced in the past, people
who took up any weight loss methods, gained one pound
weight they lost in the last few months. A study states,
"Every person has an inherited weight range that
varies by only about 10% either up or down from some
set point. (For instance, a man whose "genetically-determined"
weight is 200 pounds would tend to swing from 180 to
220 pounds, but would be unlikely to lose or gain more
than this.)".
A surprising fact revealed by Orit Pinhas-Hamiel, M.D
of Sheba Medical Center in Israel and Philip Zeitler,
M.D, PhD, University of Colorado, informs that 45% of
new cases of Type II diabetes are found among teenagers.
The areas where Type II diabetes is found in this manner
are New York, Taiwan, New Zealand and Canada.
These numbers are really surprising. According to a
survey, "in Japan 80% cases of diabetes are found
to be Type II diabetes. And in Native America, this
percentage is 70%. Pima Indians in Central Arizona have
the highest rate of Type II diabetes. It is found that
there is not much difference between the rate of Type
II diabetes in adults and in children or teenagers when
the research was made to specific population."
80% of new cases of pediatric diabetes in Japan and
70% of new cases among Native Americans are classified
as Type II diabetes. The Pima Indians in Central Arizona
have the world's highest recorded rate of Type II diabetes
in adults, in addition to high rates of obesity. The
authors of the survey observe that there is a close
tie between the rate of Type II diabetes among adults
in a specific population and the appearance of it in
children and adolescents.
With the above factual data, it is apparent that obesity
has become a core problem in world community. The rate
of Type II diabetes among children and teenager also
projects the fact that our lifestyles have deteriorated.
Therefore, it becomes important to understand this growing
problem that is now eyeing our future generations. We
must now identify & opt for a healthy and active
lifestyle compounded with good eating habits to help
our children integrate the same in their lives.
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