Significant jump in teen diabetes raises concerns

DENVER — Diabetes is on the rise among children and teens, up from 9-percent of the adolescent population in 2000 to 23-percent in 2008, according to a study reported in the Journal Pediatrics. 

Doctors say teens are at risk due to inactivity and poor diet choices. 

In people with diabetes, the body does not make enough of the hormone insulin or doesn’t use it properly. Sugar builds up in the blood, damaging nerves and blood vessels unless the patient injects the insulin they need. 

Diet and obesity are linked to Type-2 Diabetes, the most common form. 

“Type two diabetes is linked to exposure to sugar,  we feel that’s related to  child obesity rates rising with weight gain and  type one diabetes is a genetic auto immune disease,” says Dr. Steve Perry of Cherry Creek Pediatrics.

Researchers predict a 64-percent increase in diabetes in the next decade. 

Long-term complications of diabetes can include heart attacks, blindness, kidney failure, nerve damage and amputations.  Parents need to know the signs, which include extreme thirst, frequent urination, vomiting and becoming incoherent. 

For more information on diabetes you can visit www.jdrf.org and www.cherrycreekpeds.com