Type II and type I diabetes require somewhat different treatments. This is why a correct diagnosis is so important. However, it is often difficult for doctors to know what type of diabetes a child has, as they may not expect type II diabetes to appear in a person that young. When type II shows symptoms, they can be similar or identical to type I (extreme hunger or thirst, frequent urination, elevated blood glucose, and disorientation). Finally, many medical tests cannot even tell the difference. Health care providers must rely heavily on the child's family history to make a diagnosis.
Why would a kid get type II diabetes ?
In many cases, for the same reasons an adult might. Family history and ethnic background are risk factors, as is a history of gestational diabetes - in the child's mother when she was pregnant with him or her.
Obesity is another culprit. It is a particularly nasty one as well, since it can be a factor both caused by and leading to a sedentary lifestyle and lowered self-esteem. You can't get in shape without physical activity - but when you're already overweight, getting active can be really hard. It's physically tougher, and emotionally a lot harder. Without a good self-image, it can be hard to want to take care of yourself. Being overweight can be a cause that compounds the problem.
While teens are still at highest risk, researchers expect type II to show up in younger and younger children as obesity rates skyrocket.
Something to worry about
Type I diabetes tends to demand compliance. A person with type I diabetes needs his treatment regimen to survive the day. But the kid with type II can more easily ignore his problem - until it's too late.
Type II diabetes is notoriously easy to ignore. That is why it's so dangerous. Years of poor glucose control can lead to complications such as kidney disease, visual impairment, and nerve damage.
For teens and children with type II diabetes, it's even worse. Most kids want nothing more than to be "normal". That means eating and drinking what their peers do. It can also mean being fairly sedentary. And children, like everyone else nowadays, lead hectic, stressful lives. There's no time to fix a healthy meal - just grab a greasy burger and some soda for energy between school, extracurricular activities, and homework - and for many teens, there's a job in there as well.
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