Diabetes as a Public Health Epidemic - Research Paper Example

Inserts His/her Inserts Inserts Grade (23, 06, Diabetes is a public health epidemic that needs to be addressed on a governmental level Introduction During the last few decades, clinical, genetic, and physiological research has informed the world greatly about diabetes. This paper is partially an attempt to explain the cause, prevention and treatment of diabetes along with its complexities in the today’s younger generation. There may be many reasons, such as childhood obesity, lifestyle, genetics and diet issues, due to which the younger generation is becoming infected with this life threatening disease. In this paper, we will also discuss the role that the government should play in order to reduce the health concerns related to Diabetes. We will argue in this paper that diabetes is a public health epidemic that needs to be addressed on a governmental level. There are governmental programs and legislations that should be passed to help reduce the prevalence of Diabetes in the younger population. Also many other public and private measures should be taken to reduce health concerns related to Diabetes especially in younger generation. Diabetes in Youth and its types Medical practitioners have shown their deep interest in the study of diabetes in youth despite the fact that the probability of children (under the age of twenty) getting this disease is very low. According to the survey of Diabetes Prevention and Control Program (DPCP), there were around 18.2 million cases of diabetes in the United States in 2002 (Steno Diabetes research group, 120-134). Out of these, 206,000 were in people under the age of 20. Though this may seem very low as compared to the total number of cases of diabetes, it has become more prevalent in youth. Unhealthy eating habits and lack of physical exercise are major reasons why many of the children today are overweight and obese, and are at a higher risk of developing this disease. Generally there are three types of diabetes out which two of them affect the children most. They are discusses below in detail. Type 1 Diabetes Type 1 diabetes is also known as juvenile-onset diabetes. It is a type of diabetes in which body’s immune system destroys the insulin-producing cells in the pancreas. The insulin is a chemical produced in the pancreas that converts food into energy. The body cannot function without insulin. To carry out the daily routine functions, it is important that our body constantly produces insulin. Type 1 diabetes generally strikes the children at a very young age and it is usually passed genetically. Type 1 diabetes patients require insulin for their survival. There are many ways through which the patients can in-take insulin such as syringes, insulin pumps and injectable pens. The symptoms of Type 1 diabetes are loss of weight, constant feeling of hunger, increase in urine and thirst, blurred vision and exhaustion. Type 2 Diabetes Type 2 Diabetes, also known as adult onsets, is the most common type of diabetes. It is usually diagnosed in people who are above the ages of 35. The primary cause of type 2 diabetes is basically a critical medical condition called insulin resistance (Blonde and Lawrence, 123-150). Insulin resistance means that the body is able to produce insulin in the pancreas but is unable to work effectively. Approximately 85 to 90 percent of the diabetic people have type 2 diabetes. One thing that is very important to mention is that the type 2 diabetes is associated with heart disease and if not treated appropriately, the situation can become worst. Therefore it is necessary that the patient should take proper diet, walk, and exercise so as to maintain the normal diabetic level. It is important to mention here that both types of diabetes are independent of age. They may affect a person at any age so it is important that certain precautionary measures are taken to avoid both types of diabetes. Relationship between childhood obesity and childhood diabetes Over the past few years childhood obesity has increased at exponential rates. With an inactive way of living and appetite fast foods, childhood obesity has risen dramatically. According to the research of National Poll on Children’s Health, obesity in children almost doubled over the past two decades, out of which 25 percent of the children have being categorized as obese (Diabetes Research Working Group, 44). While being obese, these children are likely to have health issues such as high blood pressure, high cholesterol levels and orthopedic problems and most importantly many are found to have diabetes at an early age which is the most prominent of these problems. Until recently, the majority cases of diabetes among children were of the type 1 immune-mediated disease. But over the past two decades obesity has led to an exponential increase in the incidence of type 2 diabetes. One of the studies regarding obesity concerns reported that as the prevalence of childhood obesity increased between 1982 and 1994, the type 2 diabetes in people also increased nearly ten times. Obese children are more prone to diabetes. Children having diabetes at younger ages might also experience micro-vascular and macro-vascular complications as compared to the people who develop diabetes in adulthood. Some children also die a sudden death because of these complications. It is therefore very important to prevent child obesity as it results in many health issues, especially diabetes. Government Intervention and Diabetic Control: How government can play its part Government can play a massive role in reducing the incidence on childhood diabetes. Childhood diabetes should be considered as a public health epidemic and appropriate measures should be taken on the governmental level. In order to reduce the incidence of this life threatening disease, government should implement the following strategies to help control childhood diabetes. Diabetes Awareness and Education It is very important that the federal and the state governments should be active in this regard. Their utmost priority should be to provide all the necessary information and knowledge about childhood diabetes and its consequences. Educational programs should be held in schools so that children can be made aware of the dangers of childhood obesity and diabetes. It is also the government’s job to provide quality treatment to patients of childhood diabetes. Government should also make sure that diagnosis of childhood diabetes is timely. For this purpose, government should involve the media and educational institutions to educate children and their parents about the symptoms of diabetes and encourage early diagnosis. Precautionary measures for childhood diabetes should be made a part of the academic curriculum so that children are aware of the disease and the necessary precautions to avoid it. Concentrate on the lifestyle interventions One of the main reasons for childhood obesity is the sedentary lifestyle that the children have become accustomed to in recent times. Obesity is a major cause of diabetes, and therefore government should organize education programs that focus on lifestyle intervention. The programs should be conducted by diabetes-specialists who can demonstrate the importance of intensive lifestyle interventions to the children and their parents so that they could prevent diabetes. This would definitely create a positive impact on the lives of children. Children have become accustomed to video games and internet, and these activities do not involve any physical exercise. This is a national issue and therefore government should intervene and promote healthy lifestyle through educational programs. Promotion of Physical Sports Government should promote physical sports at school and college level. This can be done through state level competitions and tournaments which will give children a chance to take part in physical sports more. This can play a major role in encouraging children to participate in physical sports which in turn can help reduce child obesity and childhood diabetes. Preferably these competitions and tournaments should be conducted on a school level. State government can make it compulsory for schools to take part in sports competitions so that incidence of childhood diabetes can be reduced. Developing Medical Homes for Childhood Diabetes The government should make sure that the primary care medical homes are built in different localities of the country. These medical homes should incentivize the physicians and their teams to provide coordination and management of diabetes especially in children. It can be regarded as national wide approach to provide quality primary care to the children, youth and adults. This will allow better access to health care, patient’s satisfaction and also improve their health (DCCT Research Group, 321). The medical homes will deal with childhood diabetes on a priority basis so that complications related to diabetes can be controlled. These medical homes should have an agenda of highlighting diabetes as a national epidemic. This will play a huge role in creating awareness of the dangers of diabetes, and especially childhood diabetes. Promoting Healthy eating Habits Government should invest in programs that promote healthy eating habits. These programs should go on air at the time when children are watching television. This will make sure that children watch these programs. Government can also design marketing messages for promoting healthy eating habits that can be shown between cartoon shows and other children programs. This can also encourage children follow healthy eating regimes. Child obesity is increasing due to promotion of junk food culture and therefore these programs and marketing messages can play a great role in stopping children from eating junk food that contributes to child obesity and childhood diabetes. Ban all the programs that encourage unhealthy foods Knowing the fact that the media plays an essential role in the upbringing of a child, government should ban all such shows that encourage unhealthy foods. It has become a trend that the fast food restaurants market their products in such a way that attracts children at once. It is because of this reason that most of the children have increased their weight which is one of the major causes of diabetes (Carter and Owen, 229-250). Therefore government should ban all these programs right away so that the children do not get attracted towards unhealthy food. Strict Rules for Fast Food Restaurants Fast food restaurants are playing a major role in increasing child obesity and childhood diabetes. They design their menu in such a way that promotes unhealthy eating habits. Usually customers are encouraged to upsize their meals. Other measures are also taken to increase consumption of food b y restaurants. This is where government has to step in and develop rules and regulation for restaurants. Fast food restaurants should be made to follow a minimum nutritional limit for their products for children. Restaurants should also be forced not to exceed a maximum cholesterol level on their meals. Governmental measures like these will play a major role in reducing childhood diabetes. Government of any country can play a vital role in decreasing the number of diabetic patients, especially children, if they implement the aforementioned strategies. Childhood diabetes is a public health concern that should be addressed on a very large scale and this is not possible without the support of the government. How to Prevent Child Obesity? The role of the parents is also vital to prevent child obesity because children usually learn what they see. And if they see that their parents are in a habit of eating oily and unhealthy food, they will try to copy similar habits. Therefore to prevent child obesity a combined family effort is required. The efforts include exercising daily and eating healthy and fresh food. Below are some of the tips that could be implemented in order to prevent child obesity: Avoid eating burgers and pizzas as they contain a lot of fattening ingredients. Choose lean meats, vegetables and fresh fruits instead. Instead of having three large meals a day, have small meals four or five times a day. It has been found that people who have meals five times a day tends to weigh less as compared to the people who eat three large meals. Avoid watching televisions or using computer for a long period of time and keep your body in motion every now and then (Bereket and Guran, 44). Go for a walk daily and if it sounds boring then get associated with any physical activity or a game such as football or basketball Do not fry your meals; it would be better to bake or grill. Frying requires a lot of oil which is harmful for the body (Jeffrey, 523). Avoid taking soft drinks on regular basis. It has been counted as one of the major reasons why many children get obese. Excess use of soft drinks also results in diabetes. While purchasing food for the family, it is important to know the exact amount of sodium and carbohydrates used in it. Read the labels to get complete information about the ingredients that are used to make it. These are some of the tips that would surely help to prevent the child obesity. People should not neglect child obesity as it results in Diabetes which is till now incurable. Other private and public measures for reducing childhood diabetes There are many other public and private measures that can be taken to reduce childhood diabetes. Some of these measures are discussed below. Incentive to lose weight People who are overweight are mostly found to have this disease. According to the doctors, the heavier we are, the tougher it is for our body to avoid diabetes. Insulin is a chemical in the pancreas that converts food into energy. It is important that the body gets the required insulin. In case of overweight people the fats interfere with the body’s ability to utilize insulin and this is the reason why overweight people are likely to develop diabetes (Flier, 20). Therefore it is important that we work out and reduce our weight. Government can also play an important role in promoting weight loss. Government can reduce insurance costs for healthy people and increase insurance cost for overweight people. This can motivate overweight people to lose weight. Regular Screening If one is at risk of developing diabetes, he or she should immediately go to a doctor for a blood glucose test. Parents should take their children for regular checkups to ensure that their child is not in danger of childhood diabetes. Government can also force citizens to take their children for regular screening through insurance policies. Find Support People in a group lifestyle intervention are able to reduce their diabetes more as compared to the people who work out alone. One of the best programs is the United Health Group in which the program offers a lifestyle coach for the participants who are likely to develop diabetes. Government can form more support groups for children and adults alike. These support groups can play a great role in reducing childhood diabetes. Conclusion In this paper we have discussed how government can play its part in reducing childhood obesity. Diabetes is a disease which is not curable and can damage different human organs. It is therefore important that government plays it role by promoting physical sports in schools, banning programs that promote unhealthy food, and promoting healthy eating habits. Government can help reduce childhood diabetes by using its resources to create awareness, run programs and marketing messages, and change lifestyles. Works Cited Page Bereket, Guran T. International Epidemic of Childhood Obesity And Television Viewing. Marmara University, Turkey, 2011. Print Blonde, Lawrence. Small Steps, Big Rewards: Your Game Plan to Prevent Type 2 Diabetes. U.S Government, 2011. Print Carter, Owen B.J. Children’s Understanding of the Selling vs. the Persuasive Intent of Junk Food Advertising: Implications for Regulation. Social Science and Medicine, 2011. Print. Diabetes Research Working Group (U.S).Conquering Diabetes: A Strategic Plan for the 21st Century. Online Government Publication, 1999. Print DCCT Research Group. The effect of intensive diabetes treatment on the development and progression of long term complication in insulin dependent diabetes mellitus: The Diabetes Control and Complications trial. New England Journal of Medicine. 1993. Print Flier, J.S. Syndromes of insulin resistance: from patient to gene and back again. Diabetes. 1992. Print Jeffrey P. Kaplan. Progress In Preventing Childhood Obesity: How Do We Measure Up? Washington, D.C: Committee on Progress in Preventing Childhood Obesity, 2007. Print. Steno Diabetes research group. Intensified multifactorial intervention in patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus and microalbuminuria: the Steno type 2 randomised study. Lancet, 1999. Print Read More