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  HelloLife Guest Topic Started June 09 2011 at 3:34 pm Favorite 0

  Do only chubby kids get diabetes?

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  Dr. Jeff Chamberlain, MD Answered by Health Coach Dr. Jeff Chamberlain, MD
  June 09 2011 at 3:54 pm

  This is an important question. There are two main types of diabetes, type I diabetes and type II diabetes.

  Most children with diabetes have type I diabetes. Type I diabetes occurs when the body’s immune system attacks the insulin producing cells of the pancreas, so that the body can no longer make insulin. This can happen to a person regardless of their weight. Traditionally, type I diabetes was called “diabetes of the skinny” because, before the advent of insulin, people with it would be become extremely thin and emaciated. This happens because without insulin to let glucose into cells, the cells are literally starving.

  With the growing obesity epidemic in children, there are more and more cases of type II diabetes in kids. Type II diabetes occurs when the cells become resistant to insulin. The more we weigh, the more likely it is that our cells will develop insulin resistance.

  For this reason and many more, is incredibly important that we, as parents and a society, start modeling proper eating behaviors for children. We need to make sure that they have access to healthy foods and we need to stop buying calorie dense foods – particularly those foods which are heavy in processed sugars, carbohydrates and fat like snacks, chips, and crackers.

  Stay Healthy, Dr. Jeff M.D.

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