DIABETES IN CHILDREN

DIABETES IN CHILDREN DUE TO LIFE STYLE & FOOD HABITS

Like every year, this year also "Insulin Discovery Day" and "World Diabetes Day" passed silently. Except few Doctors, nobody knew this. Whereas, Diabetes is like an epidemic today. It is spreading among the children and it is due to the same ‘Life Style’.

India is No. 1 in having Diabetic patient in the world. At this moment in India, no. of Diabetic patients is around 3.5 crores. By year 2025 this figure will cross 6.0 crores as predicted by Doctors. In Heart disease also India is topping. WHO has predicted that by 2010, world’s 60% patients will be Indian. Diabetes is the reason for many diseases in our body including Heart disease. Doctors say that in West Bengal diabetics are alarmingly increasing including among the children.

Insulin was discovered in 1921, 30th July and it was first applied to a 14 year old boy Leonardo Thomson of Canada. In the last these many years, the attack of Diabetes on children, boys and girls has not come down. The Diabetes which can not be treated other than taking Insulin is called TYPE-I Diabetes and which is treated with Medicine in place of Insuline, is called TYPE –II Diabetes. Nowadays Type-II diabetes is increasing among the children throughout the world. Main reason of this is Changed life style of the children . Today children don’t play on the play ground, don’t take part in any physical activities. They play with remote control either with TV or Computer. As a result there is no exercise of their body. More over consumption of Fast Food has increased among the children. Side by side stress due to parents’ constant pressure for study (scoring highest marks in the class) is also responsible. Due to this type of Life style, children are becoming victim of this disease.

As per doctors if diabetes is not detected at primary stage it will cause different problems at later stage. If a boy of 7 years is attacked by diabetes, at the age of 20 or before, different complications will be surfacing in his body. That’s why, prevention of the disease is most important and essential.

Life style & Food habits

Introduction :
The subject which I am trying to present before you is not a new or unknown one. To some extend it is known to everybody but we don't follow or can't follow due to the changed lifestyle. It is my pleasure to say few things about wellness, nutrition and good habits for living a healthy life.

Changed Lifestyle & Food habits:
The human diet today is vastly different from that of our ancestors. For early mankind, hunting, fishing and food gathering were a survival imperative and as a consequence human beings evolved on 'natural' foods supplying a diet that was high in nutritional value.

The diet changes have taken place in the last few decades and as a result, today we are very much dependent on the processed foods and most significantly, vegetable oils and spreads. We seldom take fresh fruits and vegetables.

ESSENTIAL NUTRIENTS :

‘Your food shall be your medicine’ –said by Hippocrates, a famous of all Greek physicians. Hippocratic philosophy, they might be that nature has an innate power of healing, and that diseases are closely linked to the physical environment.

Sir Robert McCarrison one of the best known nutritionists said : The right kind of food is the most important single factor in the promotion of health and The wrong kind of food is the most important single factor in the promotion of disease.

From the above it is understood that right kind of food is the key factor for a good healthy life. At least 45 Nutrients are needed by human cells. These essential nutrients must be present in our daily foods/diets to maintain optimal health. The 45 Nutrients are Oxygen & Water (2) and Other 43 essential nutrients are classified into five main groups such as Vitamins, Minerals, Proteins, Fats and Carbohydrates. All 45 of these nutrients are important and they work together. Therefore, the absence of any of them will result in disease and eventually in death.

Due to adoption of wrong food habits weekens the defence system or lowered resistance in the body causing diseases. The food or group of food contains all these 45 nutrients is the balance food for maintenance of good health. A well-balanced and correct diet is thus of utmost importance for the maintenance of good health and the healing of diseases. The 45 nutrients which are essential for human cells are known as essential nutrients. These essential nutrients must be present in our daily foods.

It has been seen that diseases produced by the nutritional deficiencies can be corrected when all the nutrients are supplied. A well-balanced and correct diet is thus of utmost importance for living healthy and the early healing of diseases.