Childhood Diabetes Facts

Ashville, North Carolina (PRWEB) September 28, 2008 - In the inaugural newsletter for Sixty Second Parent, leading US Pediatric expert Dr Robert P. Schwartz, MD, Wake Forest University School of Medicine NC, warns that we are facing a serious problem with childhood obesity. An increase in childhood obesity is directly related to the prevalence of diabetes in children. Dr Schwarz recommends a 5-step strategy for all families to control and reverse this risk.

Dr Schwartz explains, "We need to get off the couch, eat a healthier diet, dine out less frequently, watch our portion size, and turn off the TV. If we want our children to eat a healthy diet we must also eat a healthy diet and make sure that our homes contain mostly healthy choices. If we want our children to be physically active we must become physically active. If we want to prevent our children from becoming overweight we must make changes ourselves and be good role models for our children, our families, and our communities." Read more at Sixty Second Parent.

Schwartz goes on to say that one in three children born today will develop diabetes during their lifetime, and this is the first generation of children who will not outlive their parents.

As well as diabetes, complications from childhood obesity include high blood pressure, elevated cholesterol, kidney disease, liver disease, low self-esteem and depression. Schwartz hands the control of this epidemic over to the parents, and recommends that they understand and control the key factors that contribute to childhood obesity: sugar-sweetened drinks, dining out, decreased physical activity, and sedentary activity such as TV, video games and computer. By making this information available to the online parenting community at Sixty Second Parent, Schwartz and other experts in pediatrics and parenting are able to get their recommendations out to the parents directly, and parents get the chance to have their questions answered by these experts (http://www.sixtysecondparent.com/forums)

"So why is this increase in childhood obesity occurring? Weight maintenance depends on a balance between our energy intake (the calories we eat and drink each day) and energy expenditure (the calories we burn up with physical activity)" explained Dr Schwartz. When we take in more calories in our diet or decrease our physical activity we get out of balance. The major factors related to increased energy intake include sugar-sweetened drinks, high calorie snacks, dining out at fast food and other restaurants, and large portion sizes for our food and drinks.