Every year in the U.S. 13,000 children are diagnosed with type 1 diabetes.
With knowledge, you can help your child to understand the importance of preventive health to safeguard against diabetes during their childhood years.
Listen as Dr. Stephanie Meyer, a pediatrician with the Allina Health Coon Rapids Clinic, provides us with important facts about childhood diabetes, ways to prevent the disease and her best advice for parents living with children that have Type 1 or Type 2 Diabetes.
Selected Podcast
Childhood Diabetes and Early Prevention
Featured Speaker:
Stephanie Meyer, MD - Pediatrics
Dr. Stephanie Meyer is a pediatrician at Allina Health Coon Rapids Clinic. She has professional interests in well-child care, breastfeeding and children with chronic medical conditions such asthma, attention deficit hyperactivity disorder and diabetes. Dr. Meyer attended the University of Minnesota Medical School in Duluth. Transcription:
Melanie Cole (Host): Every year in the United States, 13,000 children are diagnosed with Type 1 diabetes. Do you know what signs and symptoms to look for? My guest today is Dr. Stephanie Meyer. She’s a pediatrician at Allina Health Coon Rapids Clinic. Welcome to the show, Dr. Meyer. People hear about diabetes. Tell us the difference, please, between Type 1 and Type 2.
Dr. Stephanie Meyer (Guest): Well, Type 1 diabetes happens when your body doesn’t produce enough insulin. This is actually an autoimmune disorder, so this typically happens when your body’s own immune system destroys the cells that produce that insulin. It’s often thought of as a childhood-onset diabetes, although it can present in adulthood. This is different than Type 2 diabetes. Type 2 diabetes happens when your body becomes resistant to insulin. That’s often because of a poor diet and not healthy choices. And so your body is constantly pumping out insulin and thus becomes more resistant to it. This causes your blood sugar to rise and can lead to diabetes. Type two diabetes tends to be much more common in adults and is often considered an adult onset diabetes, although unfortunately we’re seeing more and more Type 2 diabetes in children just because we’re seeing more children who have problems with their weight and are making unhealthy choices as far as their diet goes.
Melanie: We certainly are. And I think that it used to be called adult onset diabetes, but more and more, as you said, they’re calling it Type 2 diabetes because we are seeing it in children. Can we prevent Type 1 diabetes in children, and what should parents look for, symptom-wise, that would make them suspect that maybe their child needs to be checked?
Dr. Meyer: Type 1 diabetes, you can’t really prevent, unfortunately. Your body has attacked your pancreas. That’s an autoimmune disorder. Type two diabetes is the type of diabetes that you can prevent, and that’s prevented with maintaining a healthy weight, getting enough physical activity, and just trying to get a healthy diet in. Signs and symptoms that you want to look for in your children that may trigger you to think your child has diabetes is if you feel like your child is excessively thirsty, so drinking a lot. They might be going to the bathroom frequently. They might be very fatigued. You might notice some weight loss. Some kids will even complain about blurred vision. These are all symptoms that can be associated with high blood sugar from diabetes.
Melanie: Now, tell us the symptoms of Type 2 diabetes, if they differ.
Dr. Meyer: The symptoms are really quite similar. Type 1 diabetes, those symptoms can present very abruptly and they can get very sick very quickly. It can be something called diabetic ketoacidosis. With Type 2 diabetes, it can be much more gradual. The symptoms can be much more subtle. With Type 2 diabetes, this has often been a long-term process where their blood sugar’s just kind of continually going up. Their body is becoming more and more resistant to insulin. So the weight loss tends to be much more pronounced with Type 1 diabetes, and those kids can get very sick, whereas Type 2 diabetes, there are other signs that your child may be having problems with their blood sugar. If you notice that they might be actually having problems with their weight and gaining weight, those are kind of the more common ones.
Melanie: Who is at risk for Type 1 diabetes?
Dr. Meyer: For Type 1 diabetes, people who are at risk are people who have a family history of diabetes, if they have a parent or a sibling. There also seems to be a genetic susceptibility. So some people have certain genes that may indicate they are at increased risk of Type 1 diabetes. Type 2 diabetes, being overweight is a really significant risk factor. Also, kids who are not very active, that definitely is a risk factor as well. Physical activity not only helps to keep you at a healthy weight, but it also helps make your body more responsive to insulin.
Melanie: What are some ways that can help prevent Type 2 diabetes?
Dr. Meyer: Like we kind of talked about a little bit before, eating a healthy diet, getting enough physical activity, maintaining a healthy weight are all ways to help prevent that. Some things that I tell my patients, kids should be trying to aim for about five servings of fruits and veggies a day. I really encourage kids to limit excess sugar intake, and sometimes sneaky ways that those sugars can enter our diet is pops and juices. And those are things kids really don’t need to be drinking on a regular basis. They should be drinking milk and water, and so saving those things for special occasions can really help.
Melanie: Now, what about exercise and activity? Sometimes it’s tough these days for parents to get their children up off the couch and away from the video games and get them the exercise that they need.
Dr. Meyer: Yes. We really try to encourage parents to limit screen time to at least two hours or less a day. That includes not just television, movies, but also tablets, iPads, phones, really try to be vigilant about limiting your child’s time spent in front of the screen, and then trying to aim for about 60 minutes a day of moderate to vigorous physical activities or getting your kids up and moving. That doesn’t have to be 60 minutes all at once, but at least in little chunks throughout the day, they should be getting up and being active.
Melanie: If children are developing more diabetes, as you say, Dr. Meyer, what are the long-term complications? If they have diabetes as a teenager because they are overweight and obese, what can happen to them in the long term?
Dr. Meyer: Diabetes can cause problems with all different systems in the body. It can cause heart disease. It can cause problems with your nerves, problems with your kidneys, problems with your eyes, foot damage. It can also cause skin infections. So really, pretty much any system in the body can be affected.
Melanie: It is very scary as we are seeing our children becoming more overweight in this country. What about pregnant women, Dr. Meyer? Is there something you want them to know about healthy eating during their pregnancy to prevent Type 2 diabetes in their children later on?
Dr. Meyer: Absolutely. Even while you’re pregnant, you want to still focus on having a very healthy, well-balanced diet. Fortunately, most OB-GYN providers and family practice physicians who are taking care of pregnant women, they do screen for gestational diabetes. Getting appropriate prenatal care is very important during pregnancy.
Melanie: In the last few minutes, Dr. Meyer, will you please wrap it up for us? Give us your best advice on diabetes prevention, both Type 1, Type 2, risk factor, symptoms. Kind of wrap it all up for us, if you would.
Dr. Meyer: Sure. I think the biggest thing that we want people to focus on preventing is really Type 2 diabetes, and the best way to prevent that is trying to maintain a healthy diet, eating all those fruits and veggies, avoiding unhealthy excess sugar in your diet, getting at least an hour of physical activity in daily, and just trying to make sure that you are focusing on maintaining a healthy weight. All of those are ways that we can kind of prevent our children and adults from getting Type 2 diabetes.
Melanie: Thank you so much, Dr. Stephanie Meyer. You are listening to the WELLcast with Allina Health. For more information, you can go to allinahealth.org. That’s allinahealth.org. This is Melanie Cole. Thanks so much for listening and have a great day.
Melanie Cole (Host): Every year in the United States, 13,000 children are diagnosed with Type 1 diabetes. Do you know what signs and symptoms to look for? My guest today is Dr. Stephanie Meyer. She’s a pediatrician at Allina Health Coon Rapids Clinic. Welcome to the show, Dr. Meyer. People hear about diabetes. Tell us the difference, please, between Type 1 and Type 2.
Dr. Stephanie Meyer (Guest): Well, Type 1 diabetes happens when your body doesn’t produce enough insulin. This is actually an autoimmune disorder, so this typically happens when your body’s own immune system destroys the cells that produce that insulin. It’s often thought of as a childhood-onset diabetes, although it can present in adulthood. This is different than Type 2 diabetes. Type 2 diabetes happens when your body becomes resistant to insulin. That’s often because of a poor diet and not healthy choices. And so your body is constantly pumping out insulin and thus becomes more resistant to it. This causes your blood sugar to rise and can lead to diabetes. Type two diabetes tends to be much more common in adults and is often considered an adult onset diabetes, although unfortunately we’re seeing more and more Type 2 diabetes in children just because we’re seeing more children who have problems with their weight and are making unhealthy choices as far as their diet goes.
Melanie: We certainly are. And I think that it used to be called adult onset diabetes, but more and more, as you said, they’re calling it Type 2 diabetes because we are seeing it in children. Can we prevent Type 1 diabetes in children, and what should parents look for, symptom-wise, that would make them suspect that maybe their child needs to be checked?
Dr. Meyer: Type 1 diabetes, you can’t really prevent, unfortunately. Your body has attacked your pancreas. That’s an autoimmune disorder. Type two diabetes is the type of diabetes that you can prevent, and that’s prevented with maintaining a healthy weight, getting enough physical activity, and just trying to get a healthy diet in. Signs and symptoms that you want to look for in your children that may trigger you to think your child has diabetes is if you feel like your child is excessively thirsty, so drinking a lot. They might be going to the bathroom frequently. They might be very fatigued. You might notice some weight loss. Some kids will even complain about blurred vision. These are all symptoms that can be associated with high blood sugar from diabetes.
Melanie: Now, tell us the symptoms of Type 2 diabetes, if they differ.
Dr. Meyer: The symptoms are really quite similar. Type 1 diabetes, those symptoms can present very abruptly and they can get very sick very quickly. It can be something called diabetic ketoacidosis. With Type 2 diabetes, it can be much more gradual. The symptoms can be much more subtle. With Type 2 diabetes, this has often been a long-term process where their blood sugar’s just kind of continually going up. Their body is becoming more and more resistant to insulin. So the weight loss tends to be much more pronounced with Type 1 diabetes, and those kids can get very sick, whereas Type 2 diabetes, there are other signs that your child may be having problems with their blood sugar. If you notice that they might be actually having problems with their weight and gaining weight, those are kind of the more common ones.
Melanie: Who is at risk for Type 1 diabetes?
Dr. Meyer: For Type 1 diabetes, people who are at risk are people who have a family history of diabetes, if they have a parent or a sibling. There also seems to be a genetic susceptibility. So some people have certain genes that may indicate they are at increased risk of Type 1 diabetes. Type 2 diabetes, being overweight is a really significant risk factor. Also, kids who are not very active, that definitely is a risk factor as well. Physical activity not only helps to keep you at a healthy weight, but it also helps make your body more responsive to insulin.
Melanie: What are some ways that can help prevent Type 2 diabetes?
Dr. Meyer: Like we kind of talked about a little bit before, eating a healthy diet, getting enough physical activity, maintaining a healthy weight are all ways to help prevent that. Some things that I tell my patients, kids should be trying to aim for about five servings of fruits and veggies a day. I really encourage kids to limit excess sugar intake, and sometimes sneaky ways that those sugars can enter our diet is pops and juices. And those are things kids really don’t need to be drinking on a regular basis. They should be drinking milk and water, and so saving those things for special occasions can really help.
Melanie: Now, what about exercise and activity? Sometimes it’s tough these days for parents to get their children up off the couch and away from the video games and get them the exercise that they need.
Dr. Meyer: Yes. We really try to encourage parents to limit screen time to at least two hours or less a day. That includes not just television, movies, but also tablets, iPads, phones, really try to be vigilant about limiting your child’s time spent in front of the screen, and then trying to aim for about 60 minutes a day of moderate to vigorous physical activities or getting your kids up and moving. That doesn’t have to be 60 minutes all at once, but at least in little chunks throughout the day, they should be getting up and being active.
Melanie: If children are developing more diabetes, as you say, Dr. Meyer, what are the long-term complications? If they have diabetes as a teenager because they are overweight and obese, what can happen to them in the long term?
Dr. Meyer: Diabetes can cause problems with all different systems in the body. It can cause heart disease. It can cause problems with your nerves, problems with your kidneys, problems with your eyes, foot damage. It can also cause skin infections. So really, pretty much any system in the body can be affected.
Melanie: It is very scary as we are seeing our children becoming more overweight in this country. What about pregnant women, Dr. Meyer? Is there something you want them to know about healthy eating during their pregnancy to prevent Type 2 diabetes in their children later on?
Dr. Meyer: Absolutely. Even while you’re pregnant, you want to still focus on having a very healthy, well-balanced diet. Fortunately, most OB-GYN providers and family practice physicians who are taking care of pregnant women, they do screen for gestational diabetes. Getting appropriate prenatal care is very important during pregnancy.
Melanie: In the last few minutes, Dr. Meyer, will you please wrap it up for us? Give us your best advice on diabetes prevention, both Type 1, Type 2, risk factor, symptoms. Kind of wrap it all up for us, if you would.
Dr. Meyer: Sure. I think the biggest thing that we want people to focus on preventing is really Type 2 diabetes, and the best way to prevent that is trying to maintain a healthy diet, eating all those fruits and veggies, avoiding unhealthy excess sugar in your diet, getting at least an hour of physical activity in daily, and just trying to make sure that you are focusing on maintaining a healthy weight. All of those are ways that we can kind of prevent our children and adults from getting Type 2 diabetes.
Melanie: Thank you so much, Dr. Stephanie Meyer. You are listening to the WELLcast with Allina Health. For more information, you can go to allinahealth.org. That’s allinahealth.org. This is Melanie Cole. Thanks so much for listening and have a great day.