Type 2 diabetes becoming common among children – Expert
Type 2 diabetes, once largely associated with adults, is increasingly being diagnosed among children and adolescents, Dr Elliot Koranteng Tannor, a Consultant Nephrologist at the Okomfo Anokye Teaching Hospital, has said.
He attributed the scourge partly to unhealthy diets, excessive portions and sedentary lifestyles among children.
Parents needed to pay closer attention to what their children ate, control their portions and encourage regular physical activity to reduce their risk of Type 2 diabetes and other non-communicable diseases. Dr Tannor cautions.
In an exclusive interview with The Ghanaian Times, the specialist explained that Type 2 diabetes occurred when the body did not use insulin effectively, a condition known as insulin resistance, which could worsen over time as the pancreas produced less insulin.
He said previously, diabetes diagnosed among children were largely Type 1, an autoimmune condition in which the body attacks the insulin-producing cells of the pancreas, resulting in little or no insulin.
He said Type 1 diabetes could affect children from infancy and required those affected take insulin daily to survive.
Dr Tannor however said a new pattern was emerging, with an increasing number of children developing Type 2 largely, partly due to excessive consumption of sugary drinks, sweets, chocolates, biscuits and other highly processed snacks, coupled with inadequate physical activity.
According to him, children were spending more time watching television and using tablets and mobile phones instead of running and playing.
“Kids of today, it’s TV, it is tablet, it is phone. We don’t allow them to even go out,” he said, warning that some children were becoming physically inactive at an early age.
While recommending healthier options such as fresh fruits and vegetables for children, Dr Tannor advised parents to gradually introduce children to such healthy options instead of sugary and processed foods.
The Consultant Nephrologist stressed the importance of early detection, urging parents to watch for unusual changes in their children’s health including frequent urination, excessive thirst, excessive eating without weight gain, persistent bedwetting and recurrent infections.
He explained that diabetes could cause excessive urination and bedwetting, urging parents to investigate persistent bedwetting rather than dismissing it as laziness.
Dr Elliot noted that diabetes could occur even in babies as young as one month old, although detection could be difficult because infants normally wore diapers.
He urged parents who suspected diabetes to seek medical attention and have their children assessed before serious complications developed.
From Ama Tekyiwaa Ampadu Agyeman, Koforidua
You can now read the *Ghanaian Times* and *The Spectator* newspapers digitally on [TimesNewsPlus](https://timesnewsplus.com/newspapers).
Follow our WhatsApp Channel now! https://whatsapp.com/channel/0029VbAjG7g3gvWajUAEX12Q
