Both adults and children can develop diabetes. Most commonly, children and adults develop different types. Children are generally diagnosed with Type 1 diabetes, which is also known as juvenile diabetes. People who develop diabetes in adulthood, on the other hand, are diagnosed with Type 2 or adult-onset diabetes.
Type 2 diabetes used to be considered an adult-only disorder. Until recently, children who were diagnosed with diabetes always or nearly always developed Type 1 diabetes. Increasingly, however, medical professionals are diagnosing children with Type 2 diabetes, normally found in adults.
One reason why children have begun to develop Type 2 diabetes is diet. Increasingly, children are eating poorly and engaging in sedentary hobbies such as Internet and video games. The combination of inactivity and poor diet causes weight gain, which contributes to developing Type 2 diabetes. Being overweight is not the only cause, but is associated with the condition.
It is important to point out that this does not mean that all overweight children, or all children who have poor diets, are going to be diagnosed with Type 2 diabetes. It does mean, however, that compared with kids who are of a healthy weight and who have healthy diets, their chances of receiving this diagnosis are increased.
Symptoms of or factors associated with Type 2 diabetes in children with this diagnosis include:
Being over one’s healthy weight, as has been previously noted. Also, if a child has an immediate relative, especially a parent, who has Type 2 diabetes, their risk of developing the condition is increased.
Other symptoms, also found in type 1 diabetes, include excessive thirst, increased need to urinate or frequent urination, and extreme tiredness.
You don’t have to have typical symptoms to be diabetic, however. It is possible to have the condition and show few if any signs. Because of this, it is important that parents report family medical history to children’s physicians, especially whether any close relatives are diabetic.
In some cases where there is diabetes in the immediate family, a physician may test for the condition even when no symptoms are present.
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