It use to be quite unusual for children to contract childhood diabetes, which use to be known as adult onset diabetes.  At that time it was more common for them to contract type 1 diabetes, which was known as juvenile diabetes.  As you can see, the names of the diseases suggested the age of the person who contracted them.  However, this is no longer valid and thus the change in names.

Understanding Childhood Diabetes

Childhood diabetes is being seen more and more often in today's overweight children.  The best treatment for this type of diabetes is simply a planned diet that includes regular exercise.  As such, it is not always necessary to have insulin replacement therapy, whereby a person injects insulin into their body depending upon their blood sugar levels.  However, researchers believe that with childhood diabetes more complications can occur that with children who have type 1 diabetes.

Symptoms Of Childhood Diabetes

In the early stages of childhood diabetes the body becomes resistant to insulin.  This means that while the body is still producing insulin, this insulin is either ineffective in reducing blood sugar levels or there is not enough of it being produced to support the body's needs.  It is important to understand that insulin is the hormone that controls the level of sugar in your blood by converting glucose into the energy that your body needs to function and to reduce the glucose in your blood.  If your glucose level cannot be reduced, then you are at risk of having complications such as heart disease, kidney disease, nerve damage, limb amputation and blindness.

Treating Childhood Diabetes

Treatment for childhood diabetes should include regular exercise and a healthy diet.  This should greatly reduce the risk of health complications.  The diet should be a well balanced one that is low in saturated fat, sugar and salt.  It should be high in fiber, including a lot of vegetables and fruit.  On the other hand, such foods as pasta, bread and cereals should be spread out throughout the day in order to prevent spikes in blood sugar levels after eating.

As you can see, the 2 primary aims of a diet and exercise plan are to control the level of sugar in the blood and to help the patient to lose weight.  If a patient can follow the plan diligently then these goals can be met.  Of course, early diagnosis also plays a great role here as well.

Copyright 2007

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