“No matter
what people tell you, words and ideas can change the world.”
--Robin
Williams, 1951-2014
When I
started the Growing Healthy Kids organization, I had an idea about preventing a
new epidemic of disease, depression, and early deaths among children due to
diabetes. I saw the childhood obesity
epidemic and the alarming increases of children at unhealthy weights. With one in three children in the U.S.,
overweight and obese, I knew that many of these children will develop type 2
diabetes, also referred to as “adult-onset diabetes”. Having seen what happens to adults who are
ignorant about the effect of drinking sugar filled sweet teas or sodas every
day on their nervous systems (resulting in amputations of toes and
feet) or their heart (4 times higher risk of having a heart attack or stroke) or their sexual health (increased incidence of impotence), I also
knew that diabetes is a preventable disease.
Having worked with thousands of older adults with diabetes and having
experienced firsthand how life-changing improved health literacy can be, I
decided to use my ideas and my words to address parents and children and the
childhood obesity epidemic in my own community and through my words, the rest
of the country.
Symptoms of
diabetes include:
- Frequent urination
- Excessive thirst
- Unexplained weight loss
- Extreme hunger
- Sudden vision changes
- Tingling or numbness in hands or feet
- Feeling very tired much of the time
- Very dry skin
- Sores that are slow to heal
- More infections than usual
Once someone
develops diabetes, they can have problems that can affect:
- Mood (diabetes doubles the risk of depression as a result of high, uncontrolled blood sugar)
- Vision
- Kidneys
- Cardiovascular (increased risk of heart attack and stroke)
- Nervous system (nerve damage causes peripheral neuropathy)
- Feet
- Digestion
- Oral health
- Sexual health
One of the biggest (and preventable) risk factors for developing diabetes is:
- obesity
We can
improve the health and lives of America’s children. September is National Childhood Obesity
Awareness Month. In conjunction with
this observance, I will be making two major announcements next week and we are counting on you to help us get out the word!
Together, we can tap into the voice, words,
and ideas of America’s children.
In
gratitude,
Nancy
Heinrich
Founder,
Growing Healthy Kids, Inc.
To learn more facts about diabetes from Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, click here.
