The disturbing news about the health of our young children comes quickly and furiously to us. First we find out that there is an obesity epidemic among our youth, that more than 20% (perhaps more) are now obese, and I can tell you as a practicing internist that today’s obese adult adults with type 2 diabetes, heart conditions, high blood pressure or stroke can be. And now we discover that according to the Latest CDC dataA third of all children aged 12 to 17 have pre-diabetes.
Note: this is not connected to the type of diabetes (type 1) that Auto -immune is connected to genetics and the most common form it is diagnosed, but the type (type 2) where you do not make enough insulin to float the glucose that you have in the cells and where insulin resistance accumulates. And no actual type 2 diabetes is needed to do that. Pre-diabetes is well on the way to actual diabetes, although it can often still be reversed by lifestyle changes. The inflammation and excess glucose associated with pre-diabetes can also damage the kidneys, coronary arteries, retina and nerves, whether a child now develops diabetes or not over the entire type 2.
Given that between 21 and 40% of the obese patients have pre-diabetes, and given that the GLP1-agonistic medicines including Ozempic and Wegovy Are very effective in not only glucose control, but also weight loss, and add that they seem to have cardioprotective effects and are also apparently good for the brain, it is no surprise that there is a huge call for them throughout America. So shouldn’t all our children be on them with a weight or sugar problem?
The answer is a resounding no.
There are not only concerns about gastrointestinal side effects and intolerance, but optical side effects (headache, macular degeneration and even loss of vision have been reported) must be studied, together with thyroid cancer. Currently there are no data on long -term side effects and a child that, once dedicated to them, could be for life.
Children’s health has fallen over the past 17 years, the study finds
It is easy to see that the benefits outweigh the risks much more for adults than for most children.
Also at a time when there is an epidemic social media And surplus screen-time addiction, in which the diets of our children are filled with ultra-processed foods, when too many children do not train, I think it would be a big mistake to hurry to these Semaglutide drugs as a quick solution to the problem.
According to the latest CDC data, a third of all American children from 12 to 17 years old have pre-diabetes. (Istock)
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Don’t get me wrong, I prefer the medicines above the long -term side effects of obesity, including all diseases and more mentioned above. If I knew for sure that a child was in a group where they were intended for diabetes or heart disease because of their weight and I could do something about it, I would of course do, but usually there are lifestyle changes to promote first. It is clear that we still have a long way to improve the diets of our children, but now it’s time to start.
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For those children with persistent obesity and/or prediabetes, a nutritionist must be involved together with an endocrinologist, but for most it should be a very running track for the Ozempic Or Wegovy plane will be launched, at least for the time being.
Click here to Van Dr. Marc Siegel
