Diabetes Cases In Children Increase, Prevent Healthy Lifestyle

Children (pixabay)

JAKARTA - New cases of type 1 and type 2 diabetes in children are reported to have increased in many countries. Type 1 diabetes occurs when the pancreas does not produce enough insulin, the hormone that regulates blood sugar. The exact cause is not known for sure, but is thought to be influenced by a combination of genetic factors and the environment.

While type 2 diabetes occurs when the body cannot effectively use the resulting insulin. This condition can occur due to excess weight, lack of physical activity, and sometimes genetic factors.

According to WHO, cases of type 2 diabetes have recently been reported to increase in children and adolescents, and in some parts of the world it has become the main type of diabetes in children.

This condition is believed to be inseparable from the increase in obesity and physical inactivity in childhood. The Chairperson of the Central Executive Board of the Indonesian Pediatrician Association (IDAI) Piprim Basarah Yanuarso stated the importance of implementing a healthy lifestyle from an early age to prevent type 2 diabetes in children.

"We know that most of the children who have type 2 diabetes are also preceded by obesity and other cardiomethabolic syndrome," Piprim said as quoted by ANTARA, Saturday, November 11.

Therefore, according to him, children must be trained from an early age to adopt a healthy lifestyle, such as exercising regularly and avoiding fast foods with high sugar levels.

"I think this can be implemented from an early age and from childhood so that there is no increase in cases of non-communicable diseases which are quite a burden," he said.

"Diabetes is a chronic disease that requires long-term management and can undermine insurance costs, such as BPJS," he added.

According to information broadcast on the World Health Organization (WHO) official website, the study results show an increase in the risk of diabetes in children.

Head of the Changing Diabetes in Children (CDIC) Safe Bhakti Pulungan also attributes an increased risk of type 2 diabetes in children with obesity and lack of physical activity.

According to CDIC data, there are around 1,100 children in Indonesia who have diabetes mellitus, 90 to 95 percent of whom have type 1 diabetes and the rest are type 2 diabetes.

"Diabetes type 2, dengan pola hidup sekarang, terutama setelah pandemi, kami perkirakan angkanya jauh lebih tinggi dari lima sampai 10 persen," kata Aman.