Rising diabetes rates among overweight teens could lead to heart problems, researchers say

Judith Garcia, 19, fills a syringe as she prepares to give herself an injection of insulin at her home in the Los Angeles suburb of Commerce, Calif., Sunday, April 29, 2012. A new study reports increasing rates of diabetes among overweight adolescents that could raise risk for future heart problems.

/ AP

(CBS/AP) Half the nation's overweight teens risk heart attacks and other cardiovascular problems because they have unhealthy blood pressure, cholesterol or blood sugar levels, a new government study finds.

And an even larger proportion of obese adolescents have such a risk, according to the alarming new statistics.

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"What this is saying, unfortunately, is that we're losing the battle early with many kids," said Dr. Stephen Daniels, a University of Colorado School of Medicine expert who was not involved in the study.

Daniels said these results are not good, since people can keep their risk of heart disease very low if they reach age 45 or 50 at normal weight and with normal blood pressure, normal cholesterol and no diabetes. The study was released Monday in the journal Pediatrics.

For the study, researchers from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention focused on 3,383 adolescents ages 12 through 19, who were part of an intensive National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES) that involves interviewing, weighing, measuring and performing medical tests on people across the country.

Overall the study found that 50 percent of overweight youths and 60 percent of obese youths had at least one risk factor for future heart disease. But normal-weight kids weren't in the clear - 37 percent had at least one risk factor and could face increased chances for heart trouble as adults, the study suggests.

The study showed that the percentage of adolescents who were diagnosed with diabetes or pre-diabetes rose dramatically, from 9 percent to 21 percent. Pre-diabetics have higher than normal blood sugar levels, but not high enough to count as diabetes.

The ongoing CDC study is considered a gold standard for looking at national health trends, said Dr. William Mahle, an Emory University pediatric cardiologist.

Mahle did say there there was some good news: The study found no increase in levels of obesity, high blood pressure or bad cholesterol during the years it covered - 1999 through 2008.

"All of us are looking for some sign or signal that we're making headway," said Mahle, who was not involved with the study. "So that was reassuring."

It's not clear why the proportion of kids with high blood sugar would increase while the measures for the other heart disease risk factors held steady.

Researchers said the results should be interpreted with caution because teens in the study were given a single blood test that can give varying results depending on the day or time of day the test is given. Other tests, though more involved and more expensive, are considered more precise. Daniels said it's possible another testing method might not have produced a swing so large.

That is possible, said Ashleigh May, the CDC epidemiologist who was the study's lead author.

"This study is just a first step to identify problems in youth. More work needs to be done to identify why this is happening and the advantages of using various test methods in this population," she said.

Still, she saw the results as a call of action to parents and adolescents.

"I think parents have the opportunity to encourage their children to engage in healthy lifestyles," May told The Washington Post said. "On the broader community level, we can promote healthy environments that make making healthy choices easier for kids."

What could parents do to curb these alarming rates?

Dr. Reginald Washington, chief medical officer of the Rocky Mountain Hospital for Children in Denver, and member of the Obesity Task Force for the American Academy of Pediatrics, told WebMD that parents should encourage smaller changes rather than major lifestyle overhauls.

If your teen has three sodas a day, suggest him or her cuts down to one to start, he said. Split an order of fries with the whole family rather than getting one for each. Walk around the block after dinner as a family.

The CDC has more tips on healthy eating.

[radfatty]

Studies show that dieting, even that considered "naturalistic", among young people lead to weight cycling [Naturalistic weight reduction efforts predicted weight gain and onset of obesity in adolescent girls; http://ebn.bmj.com/content/3/3/88.full]

There is an evidence-based compassionate alternative to conventional dieting: Health At Every Size®. Please consider this alternative prior to making a decision that may result in weight cycling.

I would also like to recommend the free NAAFA Child Advocacy ToolkitSM (CATK) and other written guidelines/resources. The NAAFA Child Advocacy Toolkit shows how Health At Every Size® takes the focus off weight and directs it to healthful eating and enjoyable movement. It addresses the bullying, building positive self-image and eliminating stigmatization of large children. Additionally, the CATK lists resources available to parents and educators or caregivers for educational materials, curriculum and programming that is beneficial for all children. It can be found at:
http://issuu.com/naafa/docs/naafa_childadvocacy2011combined_v04?viewMode=magazine&mode=embed

For more information on Health At Every Size, you can find a general explanation on Wikipedia (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Health_at_Every_Size) or find in-depth research-based information in the book Health At Every Size - The Surprising Truth About Your Weight by Dr. Linda Bacon (http://www.lindabacon.org/HAESbook/).

[hypnotoad72]

I've seen people 1/4th my age have a gut that's the same size as mine, if not larger.? (Though my excuse is surviving major surgery thanks to an issue someone else caused and managing to live with limitations. Oh, I tend to eat properly as well.? What's their excuse?)

[abby_del_abbey]

Our society is eating itself into diabetes, heart disease, etc. and into an early grave. Death by diabetes is ugly. Leg amputations, blindness, heart disease, etc.
Every time I go to the store I see young people, most of whom are overweight, many are obese, and some clearly morbidly obese. As Americans waddle up or drive through to get breakfast, lunch, and dinner at fast food restaurants and slurp down sugary sodas all day no one should be surprised....

[liveloveforgod]

When you go behind politics we see that type 2 diabetes has already been reversed. Dr Liu in Denmark revealed how to reverse diabetes without any medications.

No one needs a drug to reverse type 2 diabetes. All of this information was taken from the Spirit Happy Diet people in Denmark. Diabetes has been reversed in over 10,000 people by using a specialized diabetes diet.

The diet also reversed body fat in people trying to lose weight. Scientists showed food chemicals is the cause of almost all diabetes. They also showed how to reverse your own diabetes without medications. The diabetes drug caused cancer just google SPIRIT HAPPY DIET

[742heca]

many years ago most teenagers and younger rode bikes and walked and the diet was much different. Also with lawn mower,snow shoveling,paper routes sports of many kinds they were outdoors more than the computer cable television chaffured gneration most respectfully old mike

[caljack430]

PLEASE learn to differentiate between TYPE 1 AND TYPE 2 DIABETES. Type 1, aka Juvenile Diabetics are NOT obese! It is a completely different disease. As a Type 1 Diabetic, I'm royally sick of being asked if I was an extremely obese child. No, for your information I was not. I weighed 33 pounds when I was diagnosed at 5 years old. Its articles like this that make people completely ignorant to the fact that there are two kinds of Diabetes.

[742heca]

thank you for your good information this will be very helpful in understanding this medical termalogy

[jtdev1]

Blame anyone BUT the "Corn Sugar" (HFCS) makers.


"It's the same as cane sugar"...



seems we didn't have this problem prior to the food factories...

[CLS88]

Diabetes is STRONGLY associated with chronic vitamin D deficiency.

The Endocrine Society recommends a level of between 30-60 ng/ml year round and for life.

"Vitamin" D is not a vitamin at all. It is in reality the human body's most potent steroid hormone (calcitriol) when metabolized.

Vitamin D is derived from ultra violet B radiation (sunlight) contacting skin, st high angels (midday sun - between 10 AM-2 PM especially).

Food items are NEVER a reliable source for vitamin D. Supplementation is required in the dark /gloomy months and regular, though reasonable, sun exposure is adequate in the Northern Hemisphere April-Sept.

Those who are overweight or obese will need daily intake in excess of 5000 i.u. of vitamin D supplementation in the winter. Get a vitamin D test in December and raise levels through supplementation as required.