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ScienceDaily (Dec. 23, 2008) — Overweight siblings of children with type 2 diabetes are four times more likely to have abnormal glucose levels compared to other overweight children. Because abnormal glucose levels may indicate risk for diabetes or diabetes itself, these children could benefit from screening tests and diabetes prevention education. Researchers from The Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia published their findings December 9 in the online edition of the Journal of Pediatrics.
“To our knowledge, previous studies have not specifically looked at the risk of abnormal glucose tolerance among siblings of children diagnosed with type 2 diabetes. This group has a unique combination of genetic and environmental risk factors,” said Sheela N. Magge, M.D., M.S.C.E., a pediatric endocrinologist at The Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia and primary author of the study. “Clinical experience suggests that children with type 2 diabetes often have an obese sibling, which makes siblings an appropriate target for prevention trials.”
The study looked at 62 children: 20 obese subjects with a sibling who had type 2 diabetes and a control group of 42 obese children. The groups were similar for age, gender, racial distribution (predominantly African American), pubertal status and body mass index over 95th percentile.

The researchers found that overweight siblings of children with type 2 diabetes had four times greater odds of having abnormal glucose levels (impaired glucose tolerance or type 2 diabetes) than other overweight children. However, investigators found no significant differences in insulin resistance, as measured by the homeostasis model assessment.
Type 2 diabetes is caused by a combination of both genetic and environmental factors. Known risks include obesity, decreased physical activity, race/ethnicity, family history and insulin resistance. Obesity decreases insulin sensitivity, as does puberty, when all adolescents experience a period of relative insulin resistance. In obese adolescents already at risk of developing type 2 diabetes, the increase in insulin resistance during puberty may be enough to unmask disease. Family history is also important; 74 to 100 percent of children with type 2 diabetes have a first- or second-degree relative who also has the condition.
Not all children with a family history of type 2 diabetes, insulin resistance or obesity develop type 2 diabetes, cautions Dr. Magge.
The researchers also add that identifying groups at high risk for type 2 diabetes during childhood, such as obese siblings of children with type 2 diabetes, could help guide screening of obese children for abnormal glucose tolerance by primary care providers. This could also help to identify children who might benefit from participation in future type 2 diabetes prevention studies.
Dr. Magge’s coauthors were Nicolas Stettler, M.D., M.S.C.E.; Abbas Jawad, M.Sc., Ph.D.; and Lorraine E. Levitt Katz, M.D.; all of The Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia and the University of Pennsylvania.

The research was supported by grants from the National Institutes of Health and the National Center for Research Resources.

Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia (2008, December 23). Overweight Siblings Of Children With Type 2 Diabetes Likely To Have Abnormal

Personal Trainer in Charlotte. NC

ALBANY, New York (CNN) — Like many New Yorkers, I remember a time when nearly everyone smoked. In 1950, Collier’s reported that more than three-quarters of adult men smoked. This epidemic had a devastating and long-lasting impact on public health.

Today, we find ourselves in the midst of a new public health epidemic: childhood obesity.

What smoking was to my parents’ generation, obesity is to my children’s generation. Nearly one out of every four New Yorkers under the age of 18 is obese. In many high-poverty areas, the rate is closer to one out of three.

That is why, in the state budget I presented last Tuesday, I proposed a tax on sugared beverages like soda. Research has demonstrated that soft-drink consumption is one of the main drivers of childhood obesity.

For example, a study by Harvard researchers found that each additional 12-ounce soft drink consumed per day increases the risk of a child becoming obese by 60 percent. For adults, the association is similar.

If we are to succeed in reducing childhood obesity, we must reduce consumption of sugared beverages. That is the purpose of our proposed tax. We estimate that an 18 percent tax will reduce consumption by five percent.

Our tax would apply only to sugared drinks — including fruit drinks that are less than 70 percent juice — that are non diet. The $404 million this tax would raise next year will go toward funding public health programs, including obesity prevention programs, across New York state.

The surgeon general estimates that obesity was associated with 112,000 deaths in the United States every year. Here in New York state, we spend almost $6.1 billion on health care related to adult obesity — the second-highest level of spending in the nation.

Last year, legitimate concerns about links between consumption of fast food and the prevalence of heart disease prompted New York City to ban the use of trans fats in restaurant food.

No one can deny the urgency of reducing the rate of obesity, including childhood obesity. Obesity causes serious health problems like type 2 diabetes, high blood pressure and high cholesterol. It puts children at much greater risk for life-threatening conditions such as cardiovascular disease and cancer.

We must never stigmatize children who are overweight or obese. Yet, for the sake of our children’s health, we have an obligation to address this crisis. I believe we can ultimately curb the obesity epidemic the same way we curbed smoking: through smart public policy.

In recent decades, anti-smoking campaigns have raised awareness. Smoking bans have been enacted and enforced. And, perhaps most importantly, we have raised the price of cigarettes.

In June, New York state raised the state cigarette tax an additional $1.25. According to the Campaign for Tobacco Free Kids, this increase alone will prevent more than 243,000 kids from smoking, save more than 37,000 lives and produce more than $5 billion in health care savings.

These taxes may be unpopular, but their benefits are undeniable. Last month, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported that, for the first time in generations, fewer than 20 percent of Americans smoked. Lung cancer rates have finally begun to decline. As a result, we are all healthier.

Just as the cigarette tax has helped reduce the number of smokers and smoking-related deaths, a tax on highly caloric, non-nutritional beverages can help reduce the prevalence of obesity.

To address the obesity crisis, we need more than just a surcharge on soda. We need to take junk food out of our schools. We need to encourage our children to exercise more. And we need to increase the availability of healthy food in underserved communities.

But to make serious progress in this effort, we need to reduce the consumption of high-calorie drinks like nondiet soda among children and adults.

I understand that New Yorkers may not like paying a surcharge for their favorite drinks. But surely it’s a small price to pay for our children’s health.

The opinions expressed in this commentary are solely those of David Paterson.

Personal Trainer in Charlotte, NC

A couple of days ago, I wrote about the tragic incidences that have been occurring in the world of sport as it relates to youth athletics. The past couple of years, numerous athletes have been cleared by the physician to participate in their sport later to collapse and die while participating. This post is a follow up and is taken from News 14 about the latest case, a 15 year old basketball player that died during the team’s first game. Our heart goes out to his family, friends, teammates and coaches, and all that knew him.

WINSTON-SALEM – The state medical examiner has determined that the high school basketball player who died after collapsing during his team’s first game died from an uncommon heart condition.

The autopsy showed 15-year-old Khalid Prince, died Saturday from myocarditis, an inflammation of the heart muscle that weakens the heart.

“It is the result of viruses that are directed at the heart,” Dr. Vinay Thohan, Wake Forest University associate professor of cardiology, said. “In the process of the body healing, or killing off the viruses, it starts to attack the heart also, and when it attacks the heart, it makes the heart weak.”

Thohan, who did not treat Prince, said the condition is seen in young athletes but is not common. About 5 to 9 percent of young athletes who die suddenly suffer from myocarditis, he said.

And it can develop at any time.”The challenge is this can occur after a routine physical,” Thohan said. “So an individual may have had a perfectly normal, routine physical, develop myocarditis two months into their season and have an unusual course.”

And since it can develop even after a physical, he said people should know the symptoms.

“If two weeks ago you were able to run five miles without getting short of breath and now you can’t run a mile without feeling short of breath or having palpatations or feeling like you’re going to pass out, that is a clear change in the way you are feeling,” he said. “And that should be evaluated by a physician.”

Students and staff at Parkland High School are mourning the loss of the freshman starting point guard, who collapsed after a basketball game Dec. 2. He passed away at Wake Forest Baptist Medical Center.

Parkland Principal Tim Lee said Monday that Prince was cleared to play both basketball and football for the school.

So what causes myocarditis and what are the symptoms?

Myocarditis is an uncommon disorder. In children it is usually caused by viral infections that reach the heart, such as the influenza (flu) virus, Coxsackie virus, and adenovirus. However, it may also occur during or after other viral or bacterial infections such as polio, rubella, Lyme disease, and others.

When you have an infection, your body’s immune system produces special cells that release certain chemicals to fight off disease. If the infection affects your heart, the disease-fighting cells enter the heart. However, the chemicals they produce can damage the heart muscle, causing it to become thick and swollen. This leads to symptoms of heart failure. In addition, the virus or bacteria damage the heart muscle.Symptoms may be mild at first and difficult to detect.

Possible symptoms include palpitations (heart racing or “skipping” heart beats), low energy levels, and low exercise tolerance. Symptoms of congestive heart failure also include rapid breathing, clammy sweating, poor appetite, poor weight gain in young children, and swelling around the eyes, hand, and feet (more common in older children and young adults).

Symptoms in children over age 2 may also include:

* Belly area pain and nausea
* Chest pain
* Cough
* Fatigue
* Swelling (edema) in the legs, feet, and face

How can one be treated with myocarditis?

There is no cure for myocarditis, although the heart muscle inflammation usually goes away on its own in time.

The goal of treatment is to support heart function and treat the underlying cause of the myocarditis. Most children with this condition are admitted to a hospital. Activity can strain the heart and therefore is often limited.

Treatment may include:

* Antibiotics to fight infection
* Anti-inflammatory medicines called steroids to control inflammation
* Intravenous immunoglobulin (IVIG), a medicine made of the substances that your body produces to fight infection, to control the inflammatory process
* Medicines called diuretics to remove excess water from the body
* Medicines to treat heart failure and abnormal heart rhythms

Personal Trainer and Sports Psychologist Consultant in Charlotte, NC
Taken from news14.com and www.drugs.com/enc/myocarditis-pediatric and www.med.umich.edu/mott/chc/patient_acq_myo.html