Diabetes experts addressed this issue at a special briefing held here Thursday by the American Medical Association and American Diabetes Association. The two most common forms of diabetes are divided into types 1 and 2. The rise is closely linked to our nation's bulging waistline and our decline in physical activity. Parents increasingly have to crack the exercise whip themselves because many schools have stopped physical education programs. But that doesn't necessarily mean they're eating right.
Teenagers are so focused on how they look, so it's more vegetarian or no-fat.
But parents should encourage a variety of foods, including a lot of fruit and vegetables and whole grains. Since diabetes has a strong genetic component, tending to run in families, Jones tells WebMD that those with a history of the disease in their close relatives should keep an especially close eye on their kids' lifestyle. There are plenty of unknowns and complexities to type 2 diabetes in children. Jones notes that girls are more likely to suffer the disease, and there are risk differences depending on ethnicity, with Native Americans at high risk and Americans of African, Asian, and Latino descent also more likely to get the disease than others. Jones says that individuals born at low weights also are at a greater risk of getting type 2 diabetes, for reasons that aren't yet clear.