Will we begin to outlive our children?

[FastFoodV]

Did you know that according to the American Diabetes Association, even if the "prevalence of obesity" stabilizes through 2030, the number of diabetes cases will more than double those in2007? This is alarming, as diabetes can cause many complications 

Two-thirds of us are overweight or obese.  This is a huge problem. Because of this and the direction we are going, our children may be the first generation to not live as long as their parents. If we continue on this path, by 2030 over 40% of us will be obese. We'll have leap-frogged over the overweight cat­egory. And adults, it's not just us, as our children are bulking up right along with us. Overweight and obese children are also open to disease states that we think of as an adult problem. Diabetes, hypertension, high cholesterol, heart disease, etc. can affect people of all ages. And those of you living in other countries, don't rest easy. The obesity epidemic is a world traveler.

 

Some parents say they are not worried about diabetes.  Just some statistics here: 26 million people in the U.S. has diabetes. Around 7 million of those don't know they have it. Approximately 79 million have prediabetes. The majority of these people will advance to diabetes. One in 400 children has diabetes and this is not necessarily type 1 diabetes. More and more children are getting type 2 diabetes, which used to be called adult-onset diabetes. We can't call it that anymore because children now get it.

So is the product of carrying too much weight on our frames simply a matter of too-tight clothes and a gri­mace as we pass by a mirror? Most of us know that this isn't the case. Being overweight or obese opens us up to a variety of disease states and conditions, including diabetes, hypertension, high cholesterol, sleep apnea, certain cancers and more. And, unfortunately, this is not an adult-only risk. Children are susceptible as well. I see many young patients who are overweight or obese who are experiencing problems associated with their weight. A good example is diabetes. Who remembers that type 2 diabetes used to be called adult-onset diabetes? Guess what? Children now get it; thus the name change. A very alarming possibility is that if we continue on this weight gain trend, our children may be the first generation to have shorter live spans than their parents.

 

[aidensmomma508]

i dont think well outlive our children but it is a concern

[hugss]

No I don't think  so at all :)

[abra]

That is so sad!

[michiganmom116]

I trust the American Diabetes Association about as much as I trust the Mafia. Not that their info is wrong, but their best interest is NOT in my health...it's their bottom line $$$.

[michiganmom116]

The gov't is as much to blame as poor choices: pushing grain-heavy/carb-heavy food pyramids on us when it's other foods that are nutrient dense that are the ones we need, subsidizing crops of GMO corn and soy that are found in almost all processed foods, and making it harder for people to get REAL food (the war on raw milk, the war on pastured pork here in MI)

[Kmakksmom]

I hope not.

[Bmat]

It came close for us 2 summers ago,  my son is still not back to where he should be.

[Juniper53098]

I don't think I'll outlive my children because I am working hard to change our diets and teach them healthy eating.

[virginiamama71]

I  hope to grow old with my son.