Prescription data from three organizations shows that a growing number of American children are taking medications for obesity-related conditions.

"The numbers... indicate that hundreds of thousands of children are taking medication to treat type 2 diabetes, high blood pressure, high cholesterol, and acid reflux - all problems linked to obesity that were practically unheard of in children two decades ago."

The greatest increase was in type 2 diabetes medication, which saw a 151 percent jump between 2001 and 2007. Source: The New York Times

Labels: diabetes, medications, side-effects

Children at risk for Type I diabetes might benefit from a diet rich in omega-3 fats, according to a new study from the University of Colorado.

Dr. Jill Norris and her colleagues followed 1,770 children up to 3 years old for six years. The children had risk factors for diabetes such as having a parent or sibling with the disease. The children who consumed foods high in omega-3 fats such as tuna, mackerel, and salmon had less evidence of an antibody associated with the development of Type I diabetes.

Dr. Norris, writing in the Journal of the American Medical Association, believes that some children may benefit from omega-3 supplements.

Labels: diabetes, diet

Children and teens that are diagnosed with Type 2 diabetes are five times more likely to develop kidney disease than people who develop diabetes as adults. The risk of kidney disease is equated, not with age, but with how long someone has had Type 2 diabetes.

"Citing an example [Robert Nelson] explained, 'A 15-year-old person with 10 years of type 2 diabetes has the same risk of kidney disease as a 55-year-old with 10 years of type 2 diabetes.'"

Diabetes is becoming increasingly common among young people as obesity rates rise. While kidney disease can be prevent through proper management of diabetes, Mr. Nelson also emphasized the importance of reducing the prevalence of childhood obesity.

Labels: diabetes, kidney_disease, obesity_rates

A recent study has discovered a link between gestational diabetes and obesity. Researchers at the Kaiser Permanente Center for Health Research (CHR) in Portland, Oregon found the onset of gestational diabetes during pregnancy significantly increases the child's risk of becoming obese if the diabetes isn't treated.

"Hillier and colleagues analyzed the medical records of 9,439 women who gave birth between 1995 and 2000 in Portland, Ore., Washington State and Hawaii. They discovered that tots of pregnant women with untreated high blood sugar levels were 89 percent more likely to be overweight and 82 percent more likely to be obese by the ages of five to seven years... than were children of moms without gestational diabetes."

Teresa Hillier, the study's lead author, advises pregnant women to make sure their ob-gyn is screening for blood sugar levels and that women diagnosed with gestational diabetes stick to their treatment program. Read more at SCIAM.com.

Troubled teen boarding schools, like Excel Academy in Texas, offer help for children struggling with emotional and behavioral issues like substance abuse.

Labels: diabetes, health_risks, research

Health officials are now saying than crankiness isn't the only thing to worry about if your child doesn't get enough sleep. An ongoing study at Yale is researching the connection between sleep, obesity, and diabetes.

Dr. Sumit Bhargava, of the Yale Pediatric Sleep Lab is studying "whether obese children who have obstructive sleep apnea are more likely to become diabetic."

Read more online.

Labels: diabetes, research, sleep

Dr. Fuad Ziai, a pediatric endocrinologist in Oak Lawn, Illinois, prescribed Adderall, a drug typically prescribed to treat attention deficit and hyperactivity disorder, or ADHD to an 11-year-old patient who was 30 pounds overweight. Adderall is in the amphetamine family and are well-known appetite suppressants.

"Ziai's approach to treating obesity - he says he has prescribed Adderall for weight loss to about 800 children and teens - raises an important ethical question: Has the obesity epidemic among children become so severe that it's OK to prescribe a drug not approved for weight loss when the drug can have serious, sometimes life-threatening side effects?"

The child's parents say they'd do again – they say that their son avoided developing diabetes because of the Adderall.

But, the Food and Drug Administration warns that some who take Adderall develop psychiatric problems and pediatricians say it's wrong to prescribe Adderall for weight loss. Read more at CNN.com.

Labels: diabetes, ethics, medications