Weight and Diabetes.
A balanced diet and an active lifestyle can help all kids maintain a healthy weight. For kids with diabetes, diet and exercise are even more important because weight can affect diabetes and diabetes can affect weight.
This is true for kids and teens with type 1 diabetes or type 2 diabetes.
Weight and Type 1 Diabetes
In diabetes, the body doesn't use glucose properly. In type 1 diabetes, the pancreas does not make enough insulin.
Undiagnosed or untreated type 1 diabetes can cause weight loss. This causes weight loss due to dehydration and loss of calories from the sugar that wasn't used as energy.
Kids who develop type 1 diabetes often lose weight even though they have a normal or increased appetite. Once kids are diagnosed and treated for type 1 diabetes, weight usually returns to normal.
Developing type 1 diabetes isn't related to being overweight, but keeping a healthy weight is important. Too much fat tissue can make it hard for insulin to work properly, leading to both higher insulin needs and trouble controlling blood sugar.
Weight and Type 2 Diabetes
In type 2 diabetes, the pancreas still makes insulin, but the insulin doesn't work in the body like it should and blood sugar levels get too high. Most kids and teens are overweight when they're diagnosed with type 2 diabetes. Also, weight gain in people with type 2 diabetes makes blood sugar levels even harder to control.
People with type 2 diabetes have a condition called insulin resistance. For people with type 2 diabetes, getting to a healthy weight and exercising regularly makes it easier to reach target blood sugar levels. For overweight people without type 2 diabetes, losing weight and exercising can cut their risk of developing the disease.
The Importance of a Healthy Weight
When kids with diabetes reach and maintain a healthy weight, they feel better and have more energy. They also may be less likely to develop complications from diabetes, like heart disease.
Doctors use body mass index (BMI) to determine if a person's weight is healthy. If your doctor recommends that your child lose weight to control diabetes, a weight management plan can hel. Even if your child's BMI is in the healthy range, the doctor can help you come up with a healthy meal and exercise plan.
How Can I Help My Child?
Your emotional support is an important part of helping your child get to a healthy weight. Help your child understand that all healthy people need to actively manage their weight — even you.
And remember that kids pick up on parental attitudes and actions about weight and eating — after all, you buy the food and cook the meals. Some kids with diabetes — especially teens — may try to lose weight with fad diets or other extreme measures. These aren't good for anyone, but they're especially unhealthy for people with diabetes because they throw blood sugar levels off track.
Skipping insulin. Your diabetes health care team can help you form a plan to avoid low blood sugars through changes in medicine or timed snacks.
By following the doctor's advice about food and exercise, your child can reach and maintain a healthy weight. Kids who reach a healthy weight feel better and find that diabetes management is easier.
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