The number of children affected by diabetes in the Middle East is double. Diabetes is divided into two main patterns – the first and the second.
Type :1
Type 1 diabetes, also known as insulin-dependent diabetes or childhood diabetes, affects people under 20 years of age more than others.
Type :2
The second type, known as the disease that appears at the stage of dementia, can also affect children, most of whom are in their teens, and is associated with obesity and lethargy.
Unfortunately, increasing the prevalence of obesity can sometimes make it more difficult to know whether the diabetes that a young person or young woman has is of the first or second type.
According to health bodies, the increase has been more pronounced over the past five to eight years. With a peak in the global prevalence of diabetes, this peak was most pronounced in this region.
What is the cause of Type 1 diabetes in children ?
The causative agent of Type I diabetes is still not yet known, with hypotheses suggesting that it may have been caused by viral infections during pregnancy or early childhood, while other possible factors include exposure to environmental or food pollutants, as well as genetic and ethnic factors that increase the risk of both types– I and II.
In the UAE, many studies are documenting the high prevalence of Type 2 diabetes, mainly caused by lifestyle factors such as obesity and lack of physical activity.
Predictable causes of illness
Sugary drinks are one of the main suspects in causing obesity and diabetes in children; soft drinks are not the only type of beverage that contains high amounts of sugar, a information that may surprise many of us, especially since many children have stopped consuming soft drinks of all kinds.
Sugar is one of the ingredients in the composition of energy drinks, fruit juices, sports drinks, iced tea and canned coffee.
Medical opinion
Kim Mangam, a paediatrician at Cook Children's, expresses concern about the prevalence of obesity among young people today.
The fight against obesity is a major focus of Dr. Manjam's efforts, who says that sugar is a “very important” factor in children becoming obese .
"Sugar affects the pleasure centers of the brain, in a way that is very similar to the way other addictive substances do. Therefore, I advise parents not to offer processed drinks and foods rich in added sugar and salt, as children will prefer this type of food to healthy natural fruits and vegetables.”
Mangham noted that eliminating sugary drinks at home can reduce weight gain in children, and focusing on water and milk is an important first step in helping children lead healthy, obesity-free lives and their many health burdens.
Second medical opinion
Dr. Joel Stillman, endocrinologist at Cook Children's hospital in Texas, says children reach the high dose of sugar that causes obesity more easily when they consume soft drinks or other sweetened beverages. Includes Stillman this idea through the following equation:
Sugar = silk, and excess amounts of silk = overweight = obesity
"Obesity, especially concentrated in the waist area, increases the risk of diabetes and metabolic syndrome. Fructose, which is involved in the synthesis of cane sugar (sucrose) or corn syrup rich in fructose, is one of the main suspects in influencing the mechanism of functioning of the liver and thus increasing the risk of diabetes. The second point is that eating a large amount of sugar, stir the desire to eat more of them.”
Dr. Manjam's mother suffers from Type II diabetes. So when you talk together, Dr. Manjam usually explains to her mother about the spread of the disease in the family and its role in determining the risk of other individuals developing diabetes.
The role of parents
"Parents are responsible for controlling the amount of sugar their children eat every day, even if they are not aware of it, “said Dr. Manjam.
I therefore advise my mother and the rest of the family to try to keep sugar away from home, so that everyone has better health, especially children, who are not mature enough to know the logical amount of candy, chocolate or donuts they can eat; this is where the parents come in to set the appropriate limits.”
According to the IUCN Diabetes Atlas, the Middle East and North Africa region has more than 60,700 children between the ages of 0 and 14 with Type 1 diabetes, and the same region sees 10,200 new children diagnosed with the disease each year.