Prediabetes Now Common Among Teens and Young Adults
A new study, published in the journal JAMA Pediatrics, found 1 in 5 adolescents are now prediabetic. Read on to learn more about the study and why rates for Type 2 diabetes is rising among American youth.
According to a new study recently published in JAMA Pediatrics, nearly a quarter of U.S. young adults and 1 in 5 adolescents are now prediabetic. Until recently, young children and teens were rarely diagnosed with type 2 diabetes (adult-onset diabetes). Today, about one-third of American kids are overweight, a risk factor closely linked to adult-onset diabetes.
What is Prediabetes?
Prediabetes is when blood glucose levels are higher than normal, but are not yet high enough for a type 2 diabetes diagnosis. The American Diabetes Association provides these guidelines for identifying prediabetes:
A1C of 5.7% to 6.4%
Fasting blood sugar of 100-125mg/dl
An OGTT 2 hour blood sugar of 140-199mg/dl
Most people do not know they are prediabetic, which further increases their risk for developing type 2 diabetes, heart disease and stroke.
Key Study Findings
Nearly 5,800 participants in a national health survey were studied from 2005 to 2016. The study used several tests to determine prediabetes, including fasting glucose, glucose tolerance or hemoglobin A1c. Key study findings include:
18% of adolescents aged 12-18 were prediabetic
24% of young adults aged 19-24 were prediabetic
Prediabetes was higher in males and participants with obesity
Hispanic young adults had higher rates of prediabetes than white young adults
Prediabetic teens and young adults had significantly higher:
Cholesterol levels
Systolic blood pressure
Abdominal fat and lower insulin sensitivity
** Above increases risk of other cardiovascular diseases
Risk Factors
It is not fully understood why some children develop type 2 diabetes and others don't, even when risk factors are present in both. However, research clearly identifies factors increasing the risk. These include:
Weight- Being overweight is the primary risk factor
Inactivity
Family history
Race (being African-American, Hispanic, Native American, Asian-American and Pacific Islanders
Low birth weight
Mother had gestational diabetes
Age is also a risk factor with most youth being diagnosed with type 2 diabetes in their early teens. This is because hormones associated with puberty interfere with the body's use of insulin.
More Complications with Type 2 Versus Type 1 Diabetes
Youth with type 2 diabetes are more likely to develop complications than youth with type 1, according to the SEARCH for Diabetes Youth study. Researchers found type 2 diabetics are more likely to develop kidney, nerve and eye diseases with the following statistics:
Nearly 20% developed signs of kidney disease vs 6% of type 1.
Approximately 18% developed nerve disease vs 9% with type 1
Approximately 9% developed eye disease vs 6% with type 1
Hypertension and arterial stiffness greater in type 1
What Can Be Done?
The study findings support the need for public health initiatives that promote healthy lifestyle changes to reduce the risk of type 2 diabetes. Research shows that adults with prediabetes can reduce their risk of developing type 2 diabetes by 58% with healthy lifestyle changes. Parents can help reduce the risk for children and teens by encouraging healthy eating habits and support increasing physical activity. The CDC's Healthy Weight website offers parents on ideas for helping children maintain a healthy weight and stay active. For more information, visit CDC Tips for Parents - Ideas to Help Children Maintain a Healthy Weight.
The CDC also offers the National Diabetes Prevention Program to provide education to help prevent or delay type 2 diabetes for those aged 18 and older. The program features trained lifestyle coaches who encourage healthy lifestyle changes that include improved nutrition, physical activity and coping mechanisms to reduce stress. For more information, visit CDC National Diabetes Prevention Program.
The Role of Local Organizations
State and local organizations can help address the rising rates of prediabetes in their communities by:
Supporting mothers who choose to breastfeed
Working with early education centers and schools to improve the nutrition value of food served and provide opportunities for kids to be physically active.
Making healthy food easier to access and afford.
Keeping communities safe so youth can bike, walk and play
How have you seen obesity impact the health of children and teens in your area of practice? Did the results of this study surprise you?
This has nothing to do with GMOs. Labeling food GMO is a marketing ploy nothing more.
My point was to show how the industry manipulates policy. I do not state whether GMOs are harmful or not. Industry dumped a lot of money into preventing the bill from passing. They also advertise fast food. Corporations plainly do not want the unhealthy contents of food known to us. All of these things are important to keep in mind when looking into the issue of prediabetes.
The rest of my post show a correlation between the schools and soda machines. Who do you think would be behind putting those there?
Corporations plainly do not want the unhealthy contents of food known to us.
We agree that the consuming public needs to know what is healthy and what is not on the ingredient label, however, GMO or non-GMO has nothing to do with what is healthy/unhealthy.
The most important thing to consider as clinicians is what all of the risk factors for IGT/T2GM have in common.
I am not sure the jury is completely in on GMO products so I try not to make sweeping statements either way. For now, and speaking personally, I appreciate knowing that if something's labeled organic it is also non-GMO.
Yes, there's too much processed food consumption and not enough plain old walking to school and being physically active at recess.
Quote
It's been known since 2015 from studies of mice that soybean oil causes a resistance to insulin.
How do they study these mice? How do they control their diet and exercise? If feeding mice with soybean oil without any other nutrition, they get sick from it. And any animal can get sick from a single diet that's not growing in such an environment. Or, it's the excess weight that is the primary risk factor of insulin insensitivity or the pancreas ceases to produce insulin or both.
Do we see any fat people in a country where foods are problems? I'm sure it has something to do with excess food consumption than the body can burn.
[Perhaps, individuals really have to start thinking of their own health and stop focusing on body image or curves. Check the social media where people bicker that their excess fats are certainly sexy and curvy. Any man or woman will love him or her even with extra unnecessary body fats. That "love" doesn't care about our health or shape. Many people enslave or ruin themselves for love.]
I'm sure, for some people, they're feeding their food pleasure center and overeating.
Megarline, I really appreciate your question. It is good to question studies and statistics. This is how research and knowledge advances.
I am not very good with computers, how to insert other media, etc., Below is just the first part of the original article from PLOS. The actual study/article is many pages long so I just copied the opening part.
You are welcome to Google the article (I couldn't read the whole article I get crossed eyed looking at statistics and graphs etc.!) and see if your question is answered.
PLoS One. 2015; 10(7): e0132672.
Published online 2015 Jul 22. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0132672
PMCID: PMC4511588
PMID: 26200659
Soybean Oil Is More Obesogenic and Diabetogenic than Coconut Oil and Fructose in Mouse: Potential Role for the Liver
Poonamjot Deol, 1 Jane R. Evans, 1 Joseph Dhahbi, 2 Karthikeyani Chellappa, 1 , ¤ Diana S. Han, 1 Stephen Spindler, 2 and Frances M. Sladek 1 ,*
Jonathan Peterson, Editor
Author information Article notes Copyright and License information Disclaimer
This article has been cited by other articles in PMC.
Associated Data
Supplementary Materials
Data Availability Statement
Go to:
Abstract
The obesity epidemic in the U.S. has led to extensive research into potential contributing dietary factors, especially fat and fructose. Recently, increased consumption of soybean oil, which is rich in polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFAs), has been proposed to play a causal role in the epidemic. Here, we designed a series of four isocaloric diets (HFD, SO-HFD, F-HFD, F-SO-HFD) to investigate the effects of saturated versus unsaturated fat, as well as fructose, on obesity and diabetes. C57/BL6 male mice fed a diet moderately high in fat from coconut oil and soybean oil (SO-HFD, 40% kcal total fat) showed statistically significant increases in weight gain, adiposity, diabetes, glucose intolerance and insulin resistance compared to mice on a diet consisting primarily of coconut oil (HFD). They also had fatty livers with hepatocyte ballooning and very large lipid droplets as well as shorter colonic crypt length. While the high fructose diet (F-HFD) did not cause as much obesity or diabetes as SO-HFD, it did cause rectal prolapse and a very fatty liver, but no balloon injury. The coconut oil diet (with or without fructose) increased spleen weight while fructose in the presence of soybean oil increased kidney weight. Metabolomics analysis of the liver showed an increased accumulation of PUFAs and their metabolites as well as γ-tocopherol, but a decrease in cholesterol in SO-HFD. Liver transcriptomics analysis revealed a global dysregulation of cytochrome P450 (Cyp) genes in SO-HFD versus HFD livers, most notably in the Cyp3a and Cyp2c families. Other genes involved in obesity (e.g., Cidec, Cd36), diabetes (Igfbp1), inflammation (Cd63), mitochondrial function (Pdk4) and cancer (H19) were also upregulated by the soybean oil diet. Taken together, our results indicate that in mice a diet high in soybean oil is more detrimental to metabolic health than a diet high in fructose or coconut oil.
Megarline, I really appreciate your question. It is good to question studies and statistics. This is how research and knowledge advances.
I am not very good with computers, how to insert other media, etc., Below is just the first part of the original article from PLOS. The actual study/article is many pages long so I just copied the opening part.
You are welcome to Google the article (I couldn't read the whole article I get crossed eyed looking at statistics and graphs etc.!) and see if your question is answered.
PLoS One. 2015; 10(7): e0132672.
Published online 2015 Jul 22. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0132672
PMCID: PMC4511588
PMID: 26200659
Soybean Oil Is More Obesogenic and Diabetogenic than Coconut Oil and Fructose in Mouse: Potential Role for the Liver
Poonamjot Deol, 1 Jane R. Evans, 1 Joseph Dhahbi, 2 Karthikeyani Chellappa, 1 , ¤ Diana S. Han, 1 Stephen Spindler, 2 and Frances M. Sladek 1 ,*
Jonathan Peterson, Editor
Author information Article notes Copyright and License information Disclaimer
This article has been cited by other articles in PMC.
Associated Data
Supplementary Materials
Data Availability Statement
Go to:
Abstract
The obesity epidemic in the U.S. has led to extensive research into potential contributing dietary factors, especially fat and fructose. Recently, increased consumption of soybean oil, which is rich in polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFAs), has been proposed to play a causal role in the epidemic. Here, we designed a series of four isocaloric diets (HFD, SO-HFD, F-HFD, F-SO-HFD) to investigate the effects of saturated versus unsaturated fat, as well as fructose, on obesity and diabetes. C57/BL6 male mice fed a diet moderately high in fat from coconut oil and soybean oil (SO-HFD, 40% kcal total fat) showed statistically significant increases in weight gain, adiposity, diabetes, glucose intolerance and insulin resistance compared to mice on a diet consisting primarily of coconut oil (HFD). They also had fatty livers with hepatocyte ballooning and very large lipid droplets as well as shorter colonic crypt length. While the high fructose diet (F-HFD) did not cause as much obesity or diabetes as SO-HFD, it did cause rectal prolapse and a very fatty liver, but no balloon injury. The coconut oil diet (with or without fructose) increased spleen weight while fructose in the presence of soybean oil increased kidney weight. Metabolomics analysis of the liver showed an increased accumulation of PUFAs and their metabolites as well as γ-tocopherol, but a decrease in cholesterol in SO-HFD. Liver transcriptomics analysis revealed a global dysregulation of cytochrome P450 (Cyp) genes in SO-HFD versus HFD livers, most notably in the Cyp3a and Cyp2c families. Other genes involved in obesity (e.g., Cidec, Cd36), diabetes (Igfbp1), inflammation (Cd63), mitochondrial function (Pdk4) and cancer (H19) were also upregulated by the soybean oil diet. Taken together, our results indicate that in mice a diet high in soybean oil is more detrimental to metabolic health than a diet high in fructose or coconut oil.
Go to:
Introduction
This data tells us that people really need to learn to control their cravings. It boils down to self-discipline. Drugs are illegals yet there is always that person does everything at all cost to get them. Behavioral issues.
We really are what we eat. When I see the sugar fed to school kids for free, that you and I pay for, I just want to hurl. Is it a conspiracy to sicken the nation's children? Is it an innocent attempt to make sure no child is hungry? Some schools actually send food home for the weekend if they think there is insufficient food at the kids' homes. Big Brother has grown awfully big.
So we have to break free of all refined sugar and all grains. They create inflammation, they are absolute poison with all of their pesticides and genetic modification. This despite what kids and parents are taught in Nutrition today.
Stop or greatly cut high carbohydrate vegetables like carrots, beets, and others that grow below ground. Potatoes. Stop rice and pasta. Along with grains and sugars, they wreak havoc on blood sugar.
Greens are your friend, especially leafies. Cabbage, Brussel Sprouts, broccoli, zucchini, some tomato, carrot, radish and cucumber intake is good.
We need grass-fed and grass-finished meats, clean fish.
Stop all artificial sweeteners, cut way down on fruit. Too much sugar except in an occasional melon or berry serving.
And plentiful exercise. Severely limit texting, video games, Facebook and other social media and get out there and run! Play hopscotch, climb the mountain, swing on the monkey bars, you know, all the Red Rover and Dodge Ball, soccer, etc. that we plaid when we were young.
We nurses can be on the front lines of educating people and helping them renew/achieve superior health. We can device a course and offer it at health consciousness and screening events, make it into a colorful, fun handout and see to it that q teacher, student, worker, and parent gets at least one.
We really are what we eat. When I see the sugar fed to school kids for free, that you and I pay for, I just want to hurl. Is it a conspiracy to sicken the nation's children? Is it an innocent attempt to make sure no child is hungry? Some schools actually send food home for the weekend if they think there is insufficient food at the kids' homes. Big Brother has grown awfully big.
So we have to break free of all refined sugar and all grains. They create inflammation, they are absolute poison with all of their pesticides and genetic modification. This despite what kids and parents are taught in Nutrition today.
Stop or greatly cut high carbohydrate vegetables like carrots, beets, and others that grow below ground. Potatoes. Stop rice and pasta. Along with grains and sugars, they wreak havoc on blood sugar.
Greens are your friend, especially leafies. Cabbage, Brussel Sprouts, broccoli, zucchini, some tomato, carrot, radish and cucumber intake is good.
We need grass-fed and grass-finished meats, clean fish.
Stop all artificial sweeteners, cut way down on fruit. Too much sugar except in an occasional melon or berry serving.
And plentiful exercise. Severely limit texting, video games, facebook and other social media and get out there and run! Play hopscotch, climb the mountain, swing on the monkey bars, you know, all the Red Rover and Dodge Ball, soccer, etc. that we plaid when we were young.
We nurses can be on the front lines of educating people and helping them renew/achieve superior health. We can device a course and offer it at health consciousness and screening events, make it into a colorful, fun handout and see to it that q teacher, student, worker, and parent gets at least one.
I agree that nurses can be on the front lines. We actually are, at any rate, whether we like it (or know it) or not. As are primary care doctors, radiologists, endocrinologists, cardiologists, oncologists and all of their associated medical personnel, all of us also being among those who will need each others' services if we do not amend our ways.
I'm not so sure I agree about those veggies that are higher on the glycemic index, such as the roots you named. Maybe for certain people, including those extreme experimenters (of which I am one from time to time). But I think it's better to include those and not demonize or marginalize them, at least not initially.
As I said further upthread, until we as a society, accept that increased sugar consumption leads directly to metabolic conditions like diabetes, this "trend" will inevitably continue. It's amazing yet not shocking that ultra processed food containing sugar is left out of the risk factors. Again: that's some lobby they have there.
When school-provided meals contain almost all carbohydrates, is it any wonder that we see more DM?
I was really shocked to see that breakfast on any given day at a school consisted of a piece of fruit, a waffle, syrup, and milk. Every single one of those items contains sugar. And almost no protein or fat.
And there is candy everywhere in our lives. And I guess it is largely due to money concerns about manufacturers and producers of food.
BostonFNP, APRN
2 Articles; 5,584 Posts
This has nothing to do with GMOs. Labeling food GMO is a marketing ploy nothing more.